My Interviews with David Karofsky and Kurt Hummel - first Draft
by PurtFiend
Summary: Here is an author's first draft of a blog about the student heroes David Karofsky & Kurt Hummel. It involves a school shooting and the aftermath. There is angst, humor, and sweet romance. Eventual Kurtofsky. Rated M because there just has to be sex between our two boys or it's just not fun. I hope there are pirates out there who still need a Kurtofsky fix once in a while.
1. Chapter 1

**Police Interview with the witness Kurt Hummel:**

"_Okay Kurt. I realize that what you have just been through has been incredibly __traumatic and terrifying but you understand that I must interview you while it is still fresh in your mind."_

"I understand."

_"How about you start telling me what happened from the time you arrived at McKinley."_

"Well I had just come back from my appointment with the dental hygienist. It was about 10:00am. I must have walked through the front doors of McKinley almost on the heels of the gunman."

"I didn't realize that of course, I was just going to my locker to get my books and go to my second class of the day. I heard a funny gurgling, dragging sound and turned to look down the hall and that's when I saw him. A guy that I recognized as a hockey player had managed to drag himself around the corner only to collapse on the floor. The blood was flowing out of him and pooling under his body. I was momentarily stunned and just stared at him. I couldn't comprehend what I was seeing. I wondered if someone was filming some bad teen slasher movie for an school assignment and went crazy with using too much fake blood. Just then, I heard gunshots and screams. I still didn't move - I just stood there, not believing this could happen in my school.

Then I heard Principal Figgins' panicked voice over the intercom telling everyone it was a lock down. He instructed everyone to keep in their rooms and lock the doors and don't let anyone in. More shots rang out followed closely by more screams. The shots jerked me out of my shocked trance and I ran in the opposite direction looking for somewhere, anywhere to hide. This was no movie, this was real. I tried the doors along the hall as I ran. I beat at them and screamed at the students to let me in. Of course, they were following the protocol and stayed away from the door. I was so scared; I had to find somewhere to hide. Finally a door gave way; it was the door to the boys' locker room. I bolted the door behind me and then started to look for somewhere to hide. That's when I noticed Karofsky – David Karofsky. He was in the equipment closet pulling stuff out. He didn't notice me because he had his ear buds in. He must have had his music on really loud because I could hear the guitar riffs from where I was standing. He was acting like he didn't have a care in the world so I knew he hadn't heard the shots or the screams or Mr. Figgins. I ran over and jumped in front of him and yanked the ear buds out of his ears…"

**Police Interview with the witness David Karofsky:**

"_You're a student at McKinley High, a former hockey player now a football player is that correct?"_

"Yes Sir."

"_Where were you when shooting started?"_

"I – I was in the locker room cleaning out the closet full of sports equipment. I was supposed to be checking the gear and cataloguing it."

"_That must have been a big job? Why were you doing it?"_

"I want to get into a sports management course in college and Coach Beiste suggested it would look good to the schools if I volunteered to help her with keeping track of the equipment. Besides, I like helping her out and I had a spare period."

"_When did you realize that a fellow student had come to school with a gun and started __on a shooting rampage?"_

"Well I had my ipod on, playing music and had my ear buds in so I didn't hear anything at first. Suddenly, I felt my buds being yanked right out of my ears so I turned around to see who the hell would dare do such a thing. There stood Fancy - um – Kurt Hummel in front of me, gasping for air, his face was deathly white and he looked more scared than I have ever seen him. Kurt and I have a bit of a history, I've seen him scared before, of - of me, but this was completely different. He looked so freaked out and I figured he must have been in a big shit load of trouble because I am the last person he would come to for help."

"_When you say he would normally be scared of you, do you mean you bullied him?"_

"Yes sir, I did, but I won't anymore, not after what happened to us. Anyways, I asked him what was wrong."

'Wrong?!' he says, didn't you hear the gunshots and the screams?' He then grabbed me and tried to haul me into the closet with him. I thought it was some weird joke or prank. He's – openly gay you know, and there he is trying to push or pull me into this closet with him. I pulled away and told him to stop it."

"Kurt then pleaded with me to get into the closet with him, saying that we had to hide from the gunman. He said there were dead students just lying in the halls. That's when I finally heard the gun fire and the screams, it seemed really close so I shoved him into the closet and stepped in after him and closed the doors. It was a tight fit for both of us and it was kind of stuffy in there. I tried to ask him some questions but he just placed his hand against my mouth and shook his head. So we just stood in there really quiet. We could still hear shouting and screaming and intermittent gunshots and they were definitely getting closer. My heart was just hammering away I was close enough to Kurt to feel his heart beat pounding in his chest…"

**Police Interview with the witness Kurt Hummel continued…**

"_So the two of you hid in the closet?"_

"Yes, I never thought I would ever willingly get into any cramped space with David Karofsky, but there we both were scared to death, pressed chest to chest. I thought things couldn't get any worse but then my nose started itching. I am slightly allergic to dust and mold and that closet had plenty of both. I could feel a tickle start in the back of my throat and I tried to clear my throat quietly. My nose started to run and I had to keep sniffing, and of course that only made things worse. I think David thought I was starting to cry because he tried to comfort me by rubbing my back and pulling me closer. He bent his head down to whisper in my ear that everything was going to be okay, we just had to stay hidden. I pushed his hand away and stood on my tip toes so I could whisper back quietly in his ear that whatever mold or dust that was in this closet was making me desperate to sneeze. He nodded and whispered again in my ear that I should sneeze already and get it out of the way before anyone came in. But it was too late; we heard more gunfire very close that sounded suspiciously like the locker room door being fired upon.

"Our worst fears were realized when we heard this voice inside the room sort bellow and say, 'Any fucking jocks hiding in here?'

"That scared me to death and I just gasped, and held my breath. The big inhale made things ten times worse. My eyes started to water as this powerful feeling of chocking really took hold of me. I could barely breathe! I had my hand clenched over my mouth and nose trying desperately not to sneeze. My heart and breath sped up even more and I opened my mouth hoping that my breathing didn't sound too loud. The voice just outside the closet was loud and crazy, screaming for jocks to come out of hiding. I could hear loud bangs and scrapings, like the person was trashing the locker room…"

**Police Interview with the witness David Karofsky continued…**

"_What was the boy yelling?"_

"Stuff like. 'I'm going to kill every last mother-fucking jock! Who's scared shitless now? Where are the fucking bullies now that I have a gun?'

"I could see that Hummel eyes were watering and he was getting red faced and having trouble breathing normally. I grabbed his head and pulled him to me, hoping that if he sneezed, the noise would be muffled in my chest. Hummel finally sneezed but even though the noise was muffled, you could still hear it. I knew then that we were in big shit. I held Hummel and dropped to my knees forcing us both down as low as we could get on the bottom of the closet. It was tight, and I ended up on top of him."

"Good thing I did that, because the next moment the closet just exploded above us. The noise was deafening as gun went off again and again. Bits of wood and dust rained down on us. I was never so scared in my life! Both Kurt and I were screaming. Suddenly the gun fire stopped and what was left of the door was yanked open and I felt the muzzle of a rifle shoved in my back. It was almost sizzling hot from all the firing. I - I..."

"_I understand how difficult this David but please if you could continue. What happened then?"_

"Um, ugh. He poked me hard with the muzzle and yelled at me to get out of the closet. He backed up and kept the gun trained on me. I had to crawl out so I could untangle myself from Hummel. Hummel crawled out after me and managed to stand. I tried to stand but the kid with the gun screamed at me to stay on my knees. He told me I was an animal and didn't deserve to stand.

"Kurt started to speak to him. 'Robbie' he said, 'remember me? I was in your science class. We worked together on experiments sometimes.'

The kid said 'yeah I remember you Kurt.' Kurt said, 'please Robbie don't shoot us, just let us go we won't tell anybody we saw you.' Robbie just smiled, he told Kurt he could leave and save his own skin but he was going to shoot the jock pig right between the eyes. I looked up to see the barrel of the gun pointed straight at my face.

"Suddenly legs moved in front of me, I couldn't see Robbie or the gun. Kurt had stepped between me and Robbie..."

**Police Interview with the witness Kurt Hummel:**

_You actually stepped in front of David to shield him from the gunman even though he was going to let you go free? Why did you do that?"_

"I really don't know what processed me, it's not like I'm friends with David or anything. In fact, up until that point I think I hated him. He has been really picking on me lately. I suppose it was because he was on his knees and looked so vulnerable. I figured if Robbie was going to let me go perhaps if I appealed to him as a person, I might be able to reach him and his compassion and he would let Dave go as well.

I pleaded with him not to shoot Dave. I said, I know he's kind of a dick head, but please don't shoot him. He doesn't deserve to die."

"Robbie's face distorted with hatred, 'Of course he deserves it! He's a fucking bully like the rest of the jocks! He slushies me and steals my lunch money and shoves me if I'm in his way. I hate him!'

"I said, He does the same to me. He throws me into lockers and he used to throw me in the dumpster, he's always coming up to me and threatening me. But even after all that I don't want him to die. He's just a boy like us. He's running scared like us. He's just as self-conscious as us, and more than anything, he wants to be liked just like us. He just expresses himself in an unfortunate manner." Robbie just started to scream again and wave the gun in front of my face.

'He's not like us, he's scum, he's a disease and a parasite! Get out of the way so I can kill him or I'll kill you first…"

**Police Interview with the witness David Karofsky:**

_What did you do when the gunman started threatening Kurt?_

"I moved away from behind Kurt and said, 'Look Robbie, I'm sorry I picked on you. It was completely unfair, I apologize.'

Robbie just scoffed and said 'apologize? You think a simple I'm sorry is going to fix this? Do you even remember doing the stuff you do to me? Did you even know my name before Kurt said it? You fucking jocks are all the same! You roam around in packs looking for some unfortunate kid that's smaller and weaker than you. You're all fucking cowards! Do you know what happened yesterday? I was grabbed by a bunch of jocks and shoved in a Johnny on the spot. They pushed it over and rolled it around in the field. When I finally got out I was covered in shit and the vile stink made me throw up. They taped the whole thing with their phones a posted it on youtube!'

I told him it wasn't me, that it was the puck-heads that did that.

"He said, I bet you saw the clip, I bet you laughed your ass off seeing me covered in blue coloured shit and piss while I staggered around barfing! He was just screaming at me, spraying me with his spit. I held up my hands and pleaded with him not kill me and said again that I was sorry. What else could I say?"

**Police Interview with the witness Kurt Hummel:**

_Please continue Kurt, what happened next?'_

"I'm not sure I should tell you anymore because I would have to betray another person's secret. It's not mine to tell."

"_This is a police investigation Kurt, you have to continue and tell me everything. It's very important._ "

"Well Robbie was extremely agitated and David apologizing for bullying him seemed to make him angrier. I was positive that any moment Robbie was going to shoot him in the face point blank.

"I tried talking to him again, hoping to calm him down. I said, 'please don't kill him Robbie, you think you hate his guts? Well guess what, I think he hates himself even more than you do.'

Robbie scoffed. 'He's a jock! He's on top of the food chain, what do you mean he hates himself?'

"Suddenly Dave blurts out, 'I'm gay. I hate myself and worry that if everyone else finds out I'm gay, they will hate me too.'

"Robbie and I were stunned at the revelation. I had known all along that Dave was closeted but I was completely surprised that Dave would divulge that information, even with a gun trained on him.

"You're gay?' Robbie repeats skeptically. 'I don't believe you. This is some kind of trick to make me feel sorry for you.' Robbie raises his gun again towards Dave's face because he had relaxed for a moment.

"He is gay.' I said in affirmation hoping that we were getting through to him. 'I found out just a little while ago. We were in this very locker room arguing when he kissed me. That's why he has stepped up his bullying towards me because he's afraid I would tell everybody. Don't you see? He has problems and issues himself that why he behaves the way he does…"

**Police Interview with the witness David Karofsky:**

"_How did Robbie react to your admission and Kurt's affirmation?"_

"Robbie just stood there speechless with his gun lowered a bit and I almost thought that Kurt and I would be safe. I almost thought that Robbie would understand my weakness and why I did what I did and put the gun down. Instead he just threw back his head and laughed.

"I can't believe it! You're a tuti fruiti fag and you've got the hots for Hummel?' He scoffed.

"Even though he had the gun and I was still on my knees, that little comment made me angry. 'I'm not tuti fruiti and I'm not sure exactly how I feel about Kurt.' I growled.

"You kissed him, I'd say you like him. Hey Hummel, why didn't you out him? You should have told all his jock friends he's sweet on you. They would have burned his sorry ass and he would deserve it!'

"No one deserves to be outed or bullied even if they do torment other people.' Kurt replied.

"You're right, he doesn't deserve to be bullied, he deserves to die and you're going to die as well right before your boyfriend.' Robbie raised his gun again and continued, 'I'll be doing the world a favor by taking two fags with me to hell!..."

**Police Interview with the witness Kurt Hummel continued…**

"_I know this is hard Kurt ,but this is really important that we continue. The interview is almost over and soon you can be with your family. I'll read your last words back. 'He pointed the gun straight at me and..." _

"My one and only thought as I stared at the gun was, I am going to die. I was never a friend of Robbie but we had some classes together over the years. I couldn't believe he could just coldly dismiss me as a fag and want to shoot me.

"Luckily before he managed to shoot there was a strange popping noise behind us. The three of us paused for a spilt second and looked to see what it was. There were about three gas canisters rolling around on the floor with smoke already issuing from them. Robbie immediately spun around to the direction they came and started firing.

"I was rammed from the side and hit the floor hard. My breath was knocked out of me as this heavy weight fell on top of me. At the same instant, the whole place exploded with a cacophony of loud bangs. I could hear the bullets whizzing above me as the police returned fire. I realized the weight on top me was David. I knew he was still alive because like me, he was flinching at the staccato of the gun fire. I realized that he had pushed me to the ground and was covering me with his body. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. I was sure neither of us was going to make it outalive.

"Finally the shooting stopped and it was quiet except for Dave's and my sobbing and coughing. My eyes were running and it was hard to breath with all the gas in the room. I heard more than saw the police as they thundered into the room yelling. It was hard to hear what they were saying because their voices were muffled by their gas masks. I finally figured out that they were yelling at us to turn over on our stomachs and show our hands. We complied and I felt hands roughly feeling my arms, sides, and legs looking for weapons. When they realized there were none and that we were not a threat, they finally let us up. They started asking us questions like how many shooters there were. We had only seen Robbie so neither of us knew anything that was a help.

"I found it hard to concentrate on anything they were saying because I could not drag my eyes from the inert form of Robbie lying face down in a pool of blood. He looked so tiny. He was always on the small side. He was all dressed in black except for his socks. All I could think of was how only Robbie would decide to wear Star Wars socks before going on a murderous rampage. It was such a crying shame that it had to come to this.

"I felt a police officer pull on my arm, wanting me to come away with her. David and I were separated and I was escorted here. It seemed like an age before you came in and I thought that you guys had forgotten me."

"_Sorry you felt that way Kurt. We had to wait for your father's permission before questioning you. He's waiting to take you home once we have finished this interview._

_I have one more question for you and then you can leave and join your father. What can you tell me about the shooter Robbie Bennett?"_

"I didn't really know him - as I said - we weren't friends. In fact I don't know if he had any friends. I always saw him on his own. He was socially very awkward and extremely paranoid and defensive and maybe that was because he was bullied all through school. He was a strange misfit, who would shout out things in class and laugh at his own weird jokes, and it was rather hard to like him. He was very clever and loved to show off his intelligence and make everyone else feel stupid and that's another reason why I think he was unpopular.

"I must admit that I was usually glad when he was around, simply because the jocks had a tendency to pick on him first. There was many a time when I slipped by unnoticed and thankful that the jocks were picking on him and not me. He had a very negative outlook and always behaved like the world was out to get him. Sadly, the world did get him in the end."

**Police Interview with the witness David Karofsky continued…**

_How well did you know the shooter Robbie Bennett?_

"I didn't know him at all. He wasn't even a blip on my radar. I didn't have any classes with him. I recognized him as a kid that was constantly picked on because I saw other guys doing that and he was right; I saw the video of him on Youtube. I was surprised when he accused me of tossing slushies at him because I can't remember that, but I have thrown a lot of slushies at kids since going to Mckinley so it is a distinct possibility."It's a thing we jocks do to keep up our superiority and to instill shock and awe.

"I don't know where he got the idea I stole his lunch money; I've never done that to anyone. I know some of the puck heads like Jason Henderson used to look out for him so he could roll him for cash. I dunno, maybe all us jocks look the same to him. I may have pushed him out of the way when I was walking down the halls. I don't know, I simply don't remember doing anything particular to him. Like he said, I didn't even know his name until Kurt said it. I doubt I'll ever forget his name now."


	2. Chapter 2

**Dave's Recollection - After the Police Interview**

My dad looked pretty anxious when they finally let me out of the classroom that served for my police interview. Mr, Hummel was with him and he looked just as fearful and worried. I wondered how much the police told them about our interaction with the shooter. Did they have any idea how close they had been to losing their sons? I could see that their faces mirrored the distraught expressions of the other parents who were milling around waiting for their children or for answers and I realized what a painful wait it had been for them.

Dad finally looked over and saw me and immediately brightened as if a great weight lifted off his shoulders. "David!" he shouted and we rushed towards each other and smashed into a giant bear hug. "Does Mom know what happened yet?" I asked, my mother was visiting my grandparents in another state.

"I haven't been able to get a hold of her. She and her parents must be out shopping. She doesn't seem to have her phone on."

My dad grabbed my arm and made a motion for us to leave. "Can we just stay until Kurt comes out? I want to see how he is before we go."

He nodded somewhat surprised and waited while I turned to Kurt's dad and said, "Mr. Hummel, Sir? I just want to say that Kurt was amazing! When we were trapped in the locker room with the gunman, he kept his cool and tried to reason with Robbie. He's bravest person I've ever known and I just wanted you to know that I wouldn't be alive now if it wasn't for him." I heard my Dad gasp behind me as he heard the news.

Mr. Hummel looked shocked and then proud and then anguished realized how close he had been to losing his son. His face worked hard at keeping his emotions in check but he was quickly losing the fight. He gave me a brief nod then turned away to continually stare at the door of the room Kurt was in. I found myself being squeezed tight by my dad from behind.

After a while, Kurt emerged from the room, and as soon as his father saw him he ran over and pulled his son into his open arms. They stood and hugged for a long time, whispering intimate things to each other no one else could hear. When they finally stood apart Kurt noticed me standing in the hall waiting around. Kurt walked over towards me slowly as if he wasn't sure what I was going to do. I wasn't sure either but I walked towards him anyways. When he finally got within arm's reach, I didn't think, I just reached out and hauled him into a huge bear hug. At first Kurt tensed but soon relaxed and hugged me back just as tightly.

"Kurt I just wanted to say thank you for trying your hardest to stop Robbie from shooting me. He gave you a chance to leave but you stayed with me. I'm sure I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for you." I whispered into his ear.

"I didn't do that great a job. In the end, he was going to kill both of us." Kurt whispered back.

"What do you mean you didn't do a great job? You kept him talking and it gave the cops time to stop him before he shot us. You stepped in front of me when he threatened to kill me. Kurt, you are so brave. You're a hero."

"You are too. You saved me twice from a hail of bullets." Kurt countered as he pulled away slightly and I loosened my hold. He looked worried and whispered so low I could barely hear. "I'm so sorry Dave; I had to tell the police everything, including the fact that you're gay. They insisted, I tried to…"

I hugged him close again. "Don't worry about it Kurt. I told them everything as well. Besides, after being threatened with death, being gay doesn't seem so bad."

We finally parted and stood awhile smiling at each other, thankful that we had survived such an ordeal. We eventually remembered that we weren't alone, and when I looked around I noticed that several students and their parents were staring at us. I guess it was quite a surprise to see a bully and his former target hugging in the middle of the hallway.

I could see that my dad was impatient to get me home but I was loath to leave Kurt now that we'd obviously reached some sort of understanding.

"McKinley will be closed for the rest of the week. Sadly, there will be lots of funerals to attend." I said, "I'd like to talk to you tomorrow if you don't mind."

"Sure, I'll give you my cell number." Kurt replied.

"I – I already have it." I said, a little embarrassed having being caught out.

"Oh?" Kurt gasped a little surprised. "Well text me your number so we can call each other."

"Okay see you around Kurt."

"Bye Dave."

**AN: Short chapter so I'll see if I can't get the next one up as well. I love to hear what you think about my story.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Kurt Hummel's recollection of events after the shooting**

When I got home with Dad I told him everything. It just poured out of me. When I was being interviewed by the police, I recited the whole drama as if it was happening to someone else; I felt little or no emotion as I recalled the details. At home, with my Dad sitting beside me with his arm wrapped around me protectively, I came undone and more or less relived the whole nightmare again emotionally. I could see him getting very angry, not at me of course but to what happened to me, but he said nothing and let me talk until there was nothing more for me to say and I had not more tears to cry. I had included the part about David bullying me and kissing me and then outing himself to Robbie. Even though I didn't ask him, I felt Dave wouldn't mind my dad knowing.

After a dozing off a while, I woke up and found that my dad was still on the sofa next to me.

"How long was I asleep?' I asked rubbing my eyes and sitting upright.

"Two and a half hours. Are you feeling a bit better?" my dad asked.

"Um yes, I mean no. I guess I'm still processing what happened. Why did you stay? You must have loads of stuff to do rather than watch me sleep."

"I almost lost my little boy today, I'm happy to be able to watch him sleep." My dad remarked, his voice heavy with emotion.

I smiled at him, continually surprised at how much I loved him. "Will you tell Carol and Finn what happened? I don't think I can retell my experience over and over, it's just too hard."

"Of course kiddo!"

"Can you leave the parts out about David being gay. I want to talk to him first to find out if he's okay with everyone knowing."

Dad looked puzzled and a bit annoyed, "Why would you care? Why protect him? It sounds like he made your life hell by bullying you!"

"That was before… he couldn't have come through this unchanged, Dad. He pushed me to the floor and covered me with his body when bullets were flying. Not once but twice! You were there; you know he waited for me after the interview to see if I was alright. He hugged me and thanked me for saving his life and he wants to phone me. Everything has changed between us! I know it in my bones!"

"If you think so Kurt; I trust your judgment, but if he goes back to his old ways, I want to know right away."

"Sure Dad. Please don't say anything until I find out if he's coming out?" I pleaded.

"Okay. Look, if his parents want any help in dealing with a gay kid. I can talk to them. I got along pretty good with his dad while we were waiting."

"Thanks Dad, I'll let him know."

I stayed in my room most of the evening not wanting to watch the news or answer the phone. I went to bed early and fell fast asleep. Through the night I woke up screaming a few times and each time my dad was there to comfort me. It was like I was a kid again having nightmares about monsters.

The next morning, Carol made me comfort food of scrambled eggs on toast with lots of butter for my breakfast. I really appreciated the thought, though I didn't feel like eating. I pushed the food around the plate while Dad, Fin and Carol tried to make light conversation. They pretended not to notice my lack of appetite so we at least had the pretense of everything being normal.

After breakfast, Dad came up to my room showed me the armful of papers he picked up that morning. All of them had headlines about the fatal shooting spree at McKinley High. My Dad pointed at the largest picture among the collage of photos adorning the front of one of the papers. The photo was a shot of David and me clinging to each other tightly. I was shocked at the sheer emotive power of the photo and I was bowled over as a wave of horrible memories of the shooting that flooded me as I stared at the image.

"Can they do that Dad?" I gasped when I finally caught my breath, "Just print the photo without mine or Dave's consent?"

"I think they can," Burt mused, "if you notice, you can't see either one of your complete faces and they don't name either of you in the article."

"Except that everybody who attends McKinley will recognize that it's Dave and me hugging."

I tried to look at the photo again dispassionately. It was very artfully done compared to the other photos on the spread. Most of them were blurry images taken from cell phones. This one was obviously taken with an expensive high speed digital camera, technical expertise, and a practiced photographer's eye. The cornea where David and I were hugging was sharp and defined as if we were an island of caring and humanity in a sea of chaos. Everything else was out of focus and in a blur of motion. You could pick out cops walking past, people in the periphery, but they were all staring at us hugging, which of course led the viewer's eye back to the center of the photo - to Dave and I. Dave's head was buried in my neck so you could only see a part of Dave's face. His cheek had a tear clearly glistening on it and part of his mouth that was drawn back in a grimace of horrible human suffering. All the drama, terror, and final relief of that day was etched on that small section of his face. His hands though, were even more expressive, as they clutched at my shoulders and back, pulling the material of my jacket taut. I rubbed my shoulders wondering how it was that they weren't sore and bruised judging by the way he held me so tight in the picture.

I was hugging him back just as tight. My back was angled slightly towards the camera so you could only see a section of the back of my head. Even so, you couldn't miss who I was with my fashionable clothes and stance. Dave must have pulled me up to him as I was in mid stride because my body was arched back with one foot planted on the floor with the other leg slightly raised and bent almost daintily. Since the picture captured a fraction of a second as we were in mid hug, we looked off kilter and out of balance, as if we were very fragile, yet holding each other up. I sighed. Even if a stranger saw this in another part of the country - they might not know who I am - but they certainly could tell what I am. I suppose if someone was generous, one might call me "stylish" or "debonair" but most viewers would call me a flaming queer. Dave looked strong and I looked weak. Dave was the typical jock in his school jacket and I was the flamboyant sensitive boy everybody picked on. A picture is worth a thousand words and this picture certainly told the story of yesterday, the bully and the bullied, both victims of the shooting and both lucky to be alive. The photo certainly had the potential to become the iconic image of the McKinley shootings. I could only hope I was wrong, for I hated the idea of a snap shot of Dave's and my grief being used as grist for the media mill.

Of course I wasn't wrong. I turned on my phone to do some surfing. The terrible shooting at McKinley was trending and the photo was already one of the first images that appeared on Google. I had little time to search the web because my phone had already started ringing.

"What the hell Kurt? Why is there a photo of you hugging Karofsky?"

"Hi to you too Mercedes, after all that happened yesterday, all you can ask me is about one stupid picture?"

"Answer the question! Why are you and Karofskey hugging?"

I went against my own promise of not retelling my experience and told her what happened to us during the shooting and how Dave and I protected each other from Robbie. It was easier this time around though I still cried at some points and found it difficult to continue. I was careful to not mention anything about Dave's sexuality.

When I was finished I added, "It was really a close call and we were afraid we would die at any second. When we met later in the hall, we were just caught up in the moment of surviving the ordeal." I paused and then asked, "Do you think this will be a big deal? I mean who cares if we hugged, people DIED yesterday. Shouldn't we be concentrating on them?"

"Let's put it this way, I have been on the phone all morning answering texts and calls, and everyone wants to know the scoop as to why you two are hugging. I had to fend off Jacob Israel who called me asking for your number. Don't worry, I told him what he could do with his phone. Believe me, everyone has recognized you two and they want to know what's going on."

"Nothing is going on!. We went through a terrible ordeal together, we managed to survive it and we hugged – end of story!"

Her phone call was the first of many I received from the Glee members all asking about the photo of Dave and me. While deflecting the questions I did manage to find out what happened to other students. All of my friends in Glee club survived though Britney was injured. The regular jocks (not in Glee), and the cheerleaders weren't so lucky. There were several deaths and injuries because Robbie had targeted them. He had gone to the cafeteria first, knowing that many of the hockey and football jocks had a free first period and would hang out there. He did the most killing there, firing on anybody with a school jacket that happened to be sitting in the room. He had then moved to the gym where the cheerleaders were practicing and opened fire. He shot three cheerleaders before the others scattered. Britney was one of the girls that was shot. Luckily the bullet had only grazed her leg. She had the presence of mind to lay still and pretend to be dead while he moved around the room. She had to lie under another girl's body for several minutes until the gunman left the room in search of other cheerleaders. There would have been more deaths amongst the cheerleaders but Sue managed to crowd most of them into a small room off the gymnasium. They locked and barricaded the door so Robbie couldn't get in. When he was unsuccessful shooting through the door, he walked to the locker room to search for more jocks and found Dave and me.

I remained on the phone most of the morning fielding calls from other worried friends and relatives. In between calls I fretted about Dave - he said he wanted to talk to me, yet he hadn't phoned. I finally mustered up my courage and phoned him only to get his voice mail. I realized then that he was probably phoning me and getting the same response. I was just going through my text messages looking for one from him when a knock sounded on the door.

"Hi Dave! Come on in!" I cried, when I opened the door and found him standing there. My enthusiastic high pitch greeting sounded over the top even to me.

He smiled nervously and shuffled in. "I hope you don't mind but I couldn't reach you by phone…" he did an odd gesture with his arms that I mistook for him wanting to hug me hello and I stepped into his arms and hugged him back. When I heard his grunt of surprise, I realized my mistake and so I tried to step back just as he decided to return the hug. I then stepped forward again to receive his hug and managed to trample his feet. It was mortifyingly awkward. In the end we both stepped back and smiled at each other. I then asked him to move to the living room and quickly left for the kitchen to regroup and bring out sodas for both of us.

He accepted the drink took a token sip and put it down and I did the same. We then sat on the couch in a very uncomfortable silence for what seemed like ages. I felt that all I did was discuss the shooting since yesterday and I just wanted to talk about anything else not related to that. At the same time, I kinda of wanted to discuss it with Dave because we were the ones that actually experienced it together. I was at a loss for words and as rare as it was for me; I couldn't think of anything to start the conversation. It was Dave that finally broke the silence.

"Kurt, I came here to apologize for my behavior before the shooting." Dave stated with his head bowed. His eyes darted to me and then back to looking at his hands. "I can't tell how sorry I am that I tormented you as bad as I did. I have no excuse but I promise that I won't ever harm you again." He turned towards me again but this time he looked into my eyes. His face was a picture of misery.

"I had a bad night last night; I couldn't close my eyes without seeing Robbie pointing a gun directly at my face. The hatred that he had for me, and I wasn't even the one that tormented him. I kept thinking of you and how I treated you. I scared you, terrorized you and made you feel powerless. You have every reason in the world to be the one holding that gun, hating me like he did."

"I couldn't do what he did. I never hated you Dave, particularly after you kissed me. I realized then that you were working out some issues with your sexuality."

"I shouldn't have worked them out on you," Dave responded.

"No you shouldn't have." I paused and asked a question that had always plagued me. "Why did you get worse with me? I wasn't talking to anyone, why did I scare you so much?"

"You knew what I was. All you had to do was mention it to one person at Mckinley and everyone would know. I was terrified of being outed by you."

"You must know I would never do that."

"Yeah I guess kinda knew, but I still bullied you anyways. I think maybe I was asking for help; maybe pushing so you would tell everybody for me."

"You wanted me to out you?"

"Honestly I don't know what I wanted. I think I wanted a connection with you. I wanted you to see me."

"If you had talked to me about it, I could have helped you!" I stated emphatically.

Dave sighed sadly, "A tiny part of me wanted help but most of me just wanted the pain of it to go away. Kurt if I could take all the hurt I inflicted on you back, I would."

"Don't worry Dave, I want to forgive you, but there is one condition."

Dave looked at me worriedly. "What's the condition?"

"You have already promised not to harm me and I will hold you to that, but I was hoping that we could become friends, you know – actually chat with each other in the halls and things."

Dave gave me a big smile. "Are you kidding? That would be great! I didn't even dare ask for friendship as well as forgiveness. This is way more than I expected. I just knew you had a generous heart!"

"Thanks Dave. I've been wondering, are you thinking about coming out. Maybe telling a few people you're gay?"

"I don't think that I'm ready for everyone to know yet." He looked at me panicked for a second. "You didn't tell anyone did you?"

"I only told my dad, but I made him promise not to say anything to anyone until you said it was alright." I rushed on, "You can trust him, he understands, in fact he said that if you want he would be there to talk to your parents once you tell them."

"Oh that's good of him. My dad might want to talk to him. I told him last night, you know - baby steps." Dave said smiling, obviously proud of himself.

"Wow that is fantastic!" I exclaimed, bouncing up and down on the sofa. I wanted to throw my arms around him again but I held myself back. I don't think Dave was as relaxed about showing affection as I was.

"Yeah, I kind of had to since I told him everything that happened yesterday. It was scary but also a great relief to get it all off my chest. He was so cool about it. He said he was shocked but not surprised."

"What does that mean exactly?" I asked. "I've heard people say that phrase all the timeand I often wonder how that can happen."

Dave chuckled and ducked his head in a bashful yet endearing sort of way. "I actually asked him that and he said that though he never suspected me of being gay consciously, but as soon as I admitted it, it was like the last piece of the puzzle snapped into place. For a long time he was feeling that we were becoming strangers and that I was moving away from him. He said it was as if he was seeing me clearly for the first time and he recognized me as a complete picture, as his son and not a stranger. Though he was initially shocked by my admission, he figured that subconsciously he must have picked up clues along the way so he wasn't surprised. He also said that it doesn't matter - he still loves me and is very proud of me for coming out."

"Wow! That's wonderful! What about your mom?" I asked eagerly.

"Well, that's kinda why I'm here. My dad wanted to be the one to tell her."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, my mom is a devout fundamentalist Christian and she won't be too happy with the fact that I'm gay." Dave sighed. "Dad thought it best that I stay out of the house when he breaks the news to her. She'll probably have something to say about it and my dad doesn't want me to overhear."

"You mean, he could be telling her right now?" I asked.

"Yep."

"Do you think she'll eventually accept it?"

"I have no clue. I know the next few days are gonna be bad. I'm almost happy that we have all these funerals to attend this week so I don't have to be at home." David said wistfully.

"About that, I will have to leave in a half an hour because I have Glee practice this afternoon. We've been asked to sing at several of the funerals." I said, worried that Dave would be disappointed he couldn't stay much longer.

"It's okay, maybe I'll go visit Az." Dave replied, "I might be spending a lot time over at his place this week, depending on how my mother reacts."

"You can come and visit me as well. I meant it when I said I want us to be friends. I will always be here to support you and talk about things David."

"Thanks Kurt, I really appreciate it." Dave said smiling. His smile slipped a bit. "You know, you don't have to make time for me this week. You have all those Glee friends of yours to hang around with, shopping and singing and stuff. Besides, isn't your dad getting married, like next weekend or something? Knowing you, you're probably doing all the wedding planning stuff."

I was surprised and a little thrilled that he knew things about my life like the wedding and the fact that I played a large part in planning the celebration. It was funny because before this whole thing happened, I would have been freaked out that he kept such close tabs on me. Now I find it sort of flattering that he finds me that interesting. I smiled sadly and give him the news.

"Unfortunately the wedding is postponed. Neither Dad nor Carol thought it was right to have such a happy celebration so close to this horrible tragedy. We were very fortunate that the hall we booked was very understanding. They even gave us first choice when they had another cancellation so Dad and Carol are getting married next month instead. As far as seeing my Glee friends, I'll only be seeing them at the funeral when we sing; otherwise I will be helping out my dad working on cars at his garage."

"Seriously!?" David looked incredulous. "You actually work on cars?"

"Of course! Let me tell you something David Karofsky; I could have you lubed up, your oil changed, your suspension checked and your tires rotated and all under twenty minutes." I bragged haughtily.

"I bet you could and I'm sure I'd love every minute of it!" Dave replied in a voice filled with innuendo. His smile grew bigger and his eyes twinkled as he gazed at me with open admiration.

My skin heated up with embarrassment over how my statement was taken and at the same time I was thrilled with the realization that _he wants me! _A boy, practically a man, actually _desires_ me! The atmosphere in the room was suddenly super charged with electricity and the intensity of his stare gave me goose bumps.

David's tongue darted out and wetted his lips. "I might just drop by your dad's garage sometime this week. I can just picture you there wearing overalls with the top part rolled down and hanging low on your hips. Your upper torso covered with a tight white cotton muscle shirt, oil smudges placed strategically to make you look even sexier. You're bent over some car looking under the hood…"

David gasped at where his little fantasy was going and looked bashful, watching my reaction to see if I was scandalized. Far from scandalized, I was caught up in his description, breathing hard and feeling turned on. "I – I don't think I could pull off such a look." I stammered, feeling shy, "I can't imagine looking that sexy."

"Sure you could Kurt. You've got the biceps." Dave reached over and gently squeezed my upper arm. "And your chest has really filled out since freshman year."

His touch on my arm was electrifying. It sent shivers down my spine. I lost myself in his warm hazel eyes.

"You think I'm sexy?"

"You are the sexiest boy I know." He whispers. I can't take my eyes off his lips. My head was moving towards him before my brain even realized it. I noticed he was also moving towards me. We were going to kiss!

We both jumped as his cell phone suddenly rang. Dave sighed unhappily. "It's my Mom's ring tone. I had better get this." The moment faded away quickly as Dave answered the phone. Even hearing only one side of the conversation I could tell it wasn't going well.

"Alright, okay! I'm coming right home! Bye!" Dave finished the call and looked totally dejected. He turned to me and said in a sad voice, "I'd better go home and face the music."

"It's going to be really bad, isn't it."

Dave sighed, "yep, she was crying when she spoke to me. She wants me home to talk about it now."

"I'm so sorry Dave. I wish there was something I could do."

"Well I might need to take you up on that offer to talk. I love my mom, I don't know what I'll do if she can't accept this." Dave was blinking back the tears.

This time when we hugged in the hallway, it felt natural and comforting. We held on to each other tightly for a long time. Dave buried his head in my neck and I could feel his lips timidly kiss the open skin he found. I squeezed tighter and also found some bare skin on his neck and pressed my lips against it. We stood back and he whispered goodbye and left.

I closed the door and leaned heavily on it, smiling at our conversation and shivering when I remembered Dave squeezing my arm. What a change has happened in my life. Last week I was scared stiff of the boy, this week I was sort of almost kissing him. What would happen next?


	4. Chapter 4

**Dave's Recollection of the funerals**

I didn't go home that night as much as I descended into the lower pits of hell. I should have been greeted with tears of happiness and prayers of thanks from my mother, but my dad convinced me that I should be away from the house when she arrived so he could break the news to her about my sexuality. I guess he figured she would be so glad I was alive that the news of me being gay wouldn't be such a shock, or maybe he figured doing it all at once would be like ripping a bandage off quick so the pain would be over faster. Either way it wasn't one of his better ideas. When I got home I was met with tears alright - tears of bitter disappointment and prayers of anguish. I arrived at the house nervous and not knowing what to expect. When my mother saw me come through the door she rushed towards me crying and threw her arms around my neck and pulled me close. I relaxed thinking everything would be okay. Then without warning she stepped back called me a pervert and slapped me across the face. I've always participated in sports and have been in my share of fist fights so I have been hit in the face a lot harder than my mom's smack, but nothing compares to the hurt of that slap. My cheek burned and my eyes filled with water, shocked that my Mon, who never raised a hand to me before had hit me. That was the high point of the evening, it actually went down hill from there. I almost wished Robbie had pulled the trigger on me after seeing my mom in such a wretched state.

My mom seemed to be going through those five stages of grief, denial, anger, bargaining, and depression all at once, I ever saw the acceptance part. She started by denying that I am gay telling me I was too young to know for sure. Then she was absolutely furious that I was gay, shouting and calling me a sinner, quoting bible passages at me, telling me I'd roast in hell. She tried bargaining and cajoling me into giving up my "gay lifestyle by offering money and gifts and of course interchanged all those with depression. She cried constantly, bursting into tears suddenly in the middle of a rant of she walked around in a shocked daze like I actually died in the shooting. What hurt the most was through it all, I knew she loved me, but she wanted me to be normal again like I was before the shooting. She just didn't get it that I was normal, being gay was the real me and the other straight David was a lie.

My dad did his best to defend me but the three of us just keep going around in circles in an endless argument. The arguments always ended in tears, with me escaping to my room.

The next day we had three funerals to attend and we went as a family. There was a lull hostilities between my mum and I. I would like to think it was because it was out of respect of the dead or out of gratitude of still having a live son while burying all those young teens whose lives were cut tragically short. But I think it was more about keeping up appearances in front of other people. We arrived at the church for the first funeral and even that small peace we had, quickly evaporated. I saw Kurt standing with the other Glee members outside the church and when his eyes met mine, he immediately smiled and waved. On one hand I was thrilled that he noticed and acknowledged me, but on the other hand I was tense because my mother was beside me. I hoped she didn't notice.

"Who's that boy, you're waving at? Is that him?" My mom asked with an accusing tone. She was fixated on 'the boy in the photo' as she called him. I was careful how I answered questions about Kurt so she wouldn't guess how I felt about him, but she had already decided he was the evil person that turned me gay.

"Yes he is the guy who did his best to protect me when I had a gun pointed to my head," I said, trying again to make her see the bigger context.

"I want to talk to him." She stated in a determined voice.

"Yeah? And say what? Do you want to thank him for saving your only son's life or to berate him for being gay?"

She glared at me and hissed, "Don't be so disrespectful to your mother!"

"Don't you be disrespectful to this situation!" I ground out under my breath. "Don't you dare start ranting and causing a scene at a funeral."

"You were never this rude to me before!" She was obviously referring to when I was a nice normal heterosexual boy.

"You never gave me cause to be rude before!" I retorted.

Luckily the Glee club had long since moved into the church so my mother couldn't approach Kurt and create a scene. My parents and I followed the rest of the crowd into the church and quickly found seats.

During the ceremony, Kurt's friend Mercedes, sang 'Amazing Grace' and another Glee member Rachel, sang 'Candle In The Wind'. I was kind of disappointed that Kurt only sang back up with the rest of the group.

After the service was over, most people milled around in small groups talking waiting for the next funeral. It was being held at the same church.

Unfortunately, Burt Hummel spotted us and came over with Finn's Mom Carol, to speak with my parents. I say unfortunately because my Mom had decided to take an instant dislike to them. My Dad was gracious and welcoming while my Mom osculated between simmering hostility, and cold contempt. I could see that Mr. Hummel had picked up on my mom's mood and was clearly confused by it. My dad had his hand clamped around my mom's elbow ready to jerk her away if she stepped out of line. I was sweating bullets, just hoping we would all survive this conversation without getting into a shouting match. Just then I noticed Kurt and Finn coming out of the church with the rest of the Glee members. They had probably been given some instructions from the pastor or something. Anyways Kurt sees us and starts to walk over, I immediately shake my head and mouth 'no' and then glance at my mother hoping he understood. He did, he stopped and said something to Finn and moved away back to the rest of his friends. Crisis averted, I could relax.

The remaining funerals that day come and go with no calamities; my mother behaved herself, mainly because Kurt was smart enough to stay a good distance from us. I went home relatively unscathed, though my parents had another nasty fight over her behavior with the Hummel/Hudsons. I was glad to escape to my room, again.

I phoned Kurt up later that night and I apologized and explained that I didn't want him to come over and join the conversation because my mother was gunning for him.

"Why is she so angry at me? I haven't met her in person. I haven't said or done anything to her to make her dislike me." Kurt asked obviously puzzled by my mom's behavior.

"She saw that picture of us hugging and she figured out immediately that you are gay and then jumped to the erroneous conclusion that you have turned me gay."

"I turned you gay because I hugged you? How silly! We both know I turned you gay when you kissed me in the locker room. It's all that queer saliva of mine that you tasted when your lips were planted on mine." Kurt teased.

I groaned as my mind remembered the kiss. Only in my version, Kurt didn't look horrified, he looked pleased, wanton and…

"Dave?"

I realized I had left Kurt dangling on the line as I spaced out. "Er yeah, I'll be sure and clarify that with her." I joked back.

"Does she really believe I have turned you gay?" Kurt asked incredulously.

"I think she just wants someone to blame. She blames herself for not being a good mother. She blames my Dad for not being a good role model for masculinity. She blames the liberal media for all the gay positive messages I receive. Hell, at point she was considering suing the city for contaminated water because she read online that all the estrogen being dumped in the water system makes boys effeminate. But unfortunately you are right at the top of the list."

"Oh Good God!' Kurt exclaimed clearly exasperated.

"God's most of the trouble," I explain. "She belongs to this very conservative Baptist church. I don't like her pastor, I think he's a wing nut. He's been filling her head with a lot of crap about conversion therapy. She wants me to go to one of those camps."

"Oh no! David you can't be serious! You're not going are you?"

I sigh and pause, "I'm considering it."

"Why on earth for?!"

"To make her happy!" I exclaimed. "If I go she won't be so disappointed in me anymore."

"Going to one of those Gay Conversion Camps won't help." Kurt remarked. "They'll just make you hate yourself more. You do realize that you can't change what you are."

"Yeah I know that! But when she sees that I've tried but can't change, maybe she'll start to see that being gay is something that I am, not something that I have chosen to be."

"Make a deal with her!" Kurt suddenly says. "Tell her you'll consider going for conversion therapy if she attends a couple of PFLAG meetings."

"Oh I can see that happening. She'd start a snowball fight with Satan when hell freezes over before she'd consider going to PFLAG.

"If you are going to do something as traumatic as conversion therapy then she can listen to a few proud parents talking about their gay kids. Just stand your ground and tell her you won't go unless she goes to PFLAG"

"It's not as simple as that. This whole thing has me scared shitless. It's destroying my parent's marriage. They used to get along great, but now they argue constantly. They each say they want to do the best for me out of love and they both accuse each other of hurting me and destroying my chances of happiness in the future. It's like I have pitted them against each other. The way they're going, they'll end up separating and it will be all my fault!" I stop and try to compose myself. My voice has grown thick with the effort not to cry.

"David, you are not to blame. It's their problem to work out. You can't do it for them. It's not your responsibility. If your Mom can't accept what you are then she's not worth the bother. " Kurt stated emphatically.

"Kurt, she's my mom; she has always been there for me. When I was growing up, she tended to my scrapes and bruises, held me when I was sad. Now it feels like I'm losing her. We're both grieving. I'm grieving for the loss of this Mom I thought I had that loved me unconditionally. She's grieving for the loss of this perfect straight son she thought she raised from a baby. We are finally seeing each other for what we are and we have let each other down. I've always known my mother is human and has faults, but her intolerance is making me upset and ashamed of her. She is finally knowing the real me and she can't accept it. I just don't know what to do." I finally give in to the feelings and start to sob.

I could hear Kurt sigh on his end of the line. "I wish I could give you some good advice David." I could tell his voice was thick with emotion as well. "When I came out, most of my relatives were quite supportive of me. The only relatives that gave me a hard time are ones that I didn't get along with anyways so I can simply ignore them at big family gatherings. I can see why you can't ignore your mother."

"It's like she sees me as this horrible monster that has taken over her son. She'll stare at me hard and suddenly burst into tears. My existence makes her sick to her stomach and she is so sad. I'm afraid she wishes that I didn't survive the shooting; that she'd rather grieve for a straight dead son than a gay live one. I don't know how much more of this I can take." I sigh into the phone.

"Dave you can't think like that; it's unhealthy. You need to get out of this toxic situation. Maybe you can come and stay at my place for a couple of days. I could talk to my Dad, I'm sure he'll let you stay over." Kurt suggested.

"That's really nice of you to offer Kurt, but what about Finn? Hasn't he just moved in with you? I bet he takes up loads of space. I'm sure you don't want another lumbering jock Neanderthal taking up more room."

"I'm sure I can make some room and squeeze you in." Kurt responded.

"Oooohhh! Squeeze me in. That sounds like a very tempting offer." I joked, desperate to lighten the conversation. I instantly grimaced, realizing how sleazy my line sounded.

Kurt giggled lustily in answer over the phone so I decided that maybe I'm not so bad at flirting after all.

I ultimately declined his offer of refuge, but I did agree that if I needed to get out of the house that I would talk to Az about staying with him a couple of days. Even though we did not have the answers to my problems, it felt better just being able to talk about it. We gradually moved to other topics.

"There seems to be a lot of interest generated by our picture – I mean the picture of you and me hugging." Kurt said.

"Yeah I noticed. It seems that all the media have simultaneously decided that our picture best represents what happened at McKinley. It's the only stupid picture they use now."

"Have your friends given you grief about it?" Kurt asked tentatively.

"Yeah, there's been some comments on Facebook about it. But I've just ignored it."

"It's getting harder for me to ignore it." Kurt groused, "Everybody wants to hear my story first hand! Most of my friends know what happened because I have allowed Mercedes and Finn to tell them. I actually had some reporter approach me at the last funeral. She said she was looking for some human interest stories and asked me if I was the boy in the photo and asked what my experience was on that day."

That sparked my interest, "Some gossip told them it was you. What did you say?"

"I told her that I was far too busy remembering a student whose life was tragically cut short than to give her "human interest" fodder for her rag of a paper. I further suggested that she move along and feed off the grief of someone else." Kurt replied primly.

"Some guy with a mic and a camera crew tagging along asked me the same thing. I told them to bug off and leave me alone. I'm not as articulate as you but it worked just as well."

Kurt laughed and then sighed, "I'm afraid that the fervor among our friends and the media, generated by that picture is taking away the focus from the victims that died. Maybe it was a good thing we didn't talk at the funerals today." Kurt paused, "Maybe we should keep our friendship low key and not talk to each other in public tomorrow as well, at least until the interest in us dies down."

I didn't know how to answer that. I knew it was Kurt being generous and thinking of everyone's wellbeing rather than his own. I fell a little bit more in love with him for that. I felt ashamed because I was working my way around to asking him to do the same thing, but my reasons were selfish. My friends were already commenting about the fact that I was caught hugging Kurt and the gay jokes were on facebook were coming in fast and furious. I didn't want any more questions raised about my sexuality by talking to Kurt publically. I hated myself for being a coward as I replied, "Yeah maybe that is a good idea."

We chatted a bit more and then said our goodnights and promised to phone each other the next evening.

The next day I prepared myself to go to more memorials and funerals. My parents had to go back to work so I would be going myself. I felt relieved that I could go and pay my respects without having to worry about any confrontations between my mother and Kurt.

During the last service of the afternoon, Kurt finally got his chance to sing a solo. He sang the Beatles song "In My Life." I sat there enthralled; his beautiful voice bathing me in warmth and emotion. After he finished I wanted to leap to my feet and applaud like crazy. Only this was a funeral service, no one clapped or even acknowledged the extraordinary voice we had all just experienced. The pastor simply got up, moved to the podium and continued talking about God's mercy.

"Man! What a girly voice Hummel has!" Az whispered. "Do you think he was kicked in the nuts when he was younger?"

"Shut the fuck up Az! Have some fuckin' respect for the dead!" I whispered back angrily.

"Okay, I'm just saying, your boyfriend has a very high voice."

I groaned, Az had been referring to Kurt as my boyfriend ever since he saw the stupid picture.

"How many times do I have to say this? Hummel is not my boyfriend!" I muttered almost automatically and then I grimaced. It was becoming harder and harder to say it - painful even. Technically I was correct; Kurt was not my boyfriend, however much I wished him to be. Even so, I felt like I was betraying Kurt by denying it. How would I ever have a future with Kurt as a friend or a boyfriend if I continued on this way?

I whispered again to Az, "He might not be my boyfriend Az, but he saved my life. I will no longer bully him and he is becoming a friend. And you're just gonna hafta deal!"

"Yah, yah, he saved your life, change the fuckin' record!" Az scowled and grumbled under his breath.

It was another baby step, but I felt better. Some of the pain went away. Maybe I could actually do this!


	5. Chapter 5

**Kurt's Recollection (after a funeral)**

After the funeral I was standing idly in the foyer waiting for Mercedes who was discussing something with the pastor. I felt his presence just behind me and I turned around.

"Hey Kurt, I know we said we weren't going to talk to each other in public but I just had to come over and tell you what a great singer you are. I loved that version of 'My Life'. My parents have always played Beatle music but it was always just background noise to me. But the way you sang that song – it gave it a whole new meaning to me."

"Oh thank you Dave! I'm glad you liked it! That means a lot to me." I gushed, preening under the glow of his obvious adoration of my singing ability. His hazel eyes were soft and gentle as he gazed at me and I don't think I could ever get tired of his smile. He has a beautiful smile that lights up his entire face.

His smile faltered a bit. "I'm surprised that you sang at this particular funeral. Jason Henderson was the jock that bullied Robbie the most. I thought you might have unpleasant feelings about the guy. Robbie had some serious mental problems but if he hadn't been bullied…" Dave trailed off and looked upset. It was obvious he was drawing parallels between Jason and Robbie and his former treatment of me.

"That's exactly why I sang at his funeral. I was sort of singing for both of them. Robbie won't be having a funeral. I heard his parents didn't want to pick up his body so he's probably had some pauper's funeral and has been buried God knows where." I started to tear up and feel anxious as unexpected emotions suddenly welled up. This happened from time to time. I suddenly would remember staring at the gun so clearly…

Dave made a move towards me to hug me. I moved back and mentally stomped on my feelings. "Dave!" I managed to squeak out, "Not here, in front of people!"

"Of course! I'm sorry!" Dave looked around a bit panicky and then noticed Az coming towards him. "Hey Az."

"Hey Dave, let's get out of here and hang out at my place." Az said to Dave and then he spied me. "Great singing Hummel, you sounded really gay!"

"Why thanks Azimio! I equate everything gay with perfection so I'll take that as a glowing tribute to my talent." I replied and Dave chuckled.

Az turned and scowled at Dave. "You wanna be friends with this guy? And giggle at his stupid jokes? Fine, but remember, you can't hang around a fag without people starting to think that you're a fag as well."

I looked to Dave to see how he would react. His warm smile was replaced by his default scowl and I felt the familiar scared feeling I used to feel around my former bully. I had a sudden fear that he would turn against me because of Azimio's taunting. I think he realized what I was thinking because I saw something change in his eyes. He suddenly turned to his friend, "Why don't you take up your own advice and stop hanging around me then. You don't want people thinking you're a fag do ya?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Az asked.

"Forget it!" Dave countered, looking shocked and worried. He had obviously blurted his response out without thinking.

I quickly jumped in, "He's saying that if people think he's gay for hanging out with me, then people will think you're gay 'cause you're hanging out with him." I looked scornful at Az, "The whole notion is stupid because you can't catch the gay! I could prance around you 24/7 and you'd still be a dumb straight assed jock, wouldn't you?"

"Damn straight! You won't change my mind. I like women!" Az exclaimed."Hey! Wait a minute, l'm not a dumb ass!"

"I won't be changing Dave then, by hanging around him, will I?" I quizzed, carefully not suggesting that Dave was straight to begin with.

"I guess not." Az admitted.

"So you can hang around Dave without catching the gay as well. Isn't that right?"

"Well yeah!"

"So what's the problem?" I asked.

"Let's get out of here!" Az growled to Dave and turned to move away. "Hummel's fucking with my brain!"

"I certainly won't be fucking with your ass." I say as a parting shot.

Az sputtered and made a move back towards me, Dave laughed but managed to grab Az and steer him away. "See you later Kurt!" He said and the two of them left.

"Bye Dave." I called. I hoped my little performance helped him out.

It turned out my little performance to protect Dave was moot. Later that evening we got a call from a reporter. It was my dad that took the call, his pleasant expression gradually changing to a sour one as he listened on the phone. He gave a terse "no comment! "You print that story and I'll sue your ass!" and slammed the phone down.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"That was a reporter wanting to verify some background facts. He wanted you to confirm that David Karofsky is gay and if it was true that he tried to kiss you."

"How did they know that!? The only people I told were the police and you."

"Well either the Karofsky's spoke to the press or someone leaked one of your police statements."

"Those bastards! It must be a leaked police report because David's family is in turmoil about this. They wouldn't go running to the press!"

"They want to print a story about the two brave gay students protecting each other from the shooter."

"They can't out Dave as gay can they? He's still a minor!" I exclaim, shocked.

"I'm not sure. I'd better give Paul a call and discuss what we can do about this. Perhaps we can get lawyers to stop this story from coming out." Dad stated and reached for his address book.

"I'll phone Dave on his cell." I called as I ran up the stairs to my bedroom.

"Dave, I've got some terrible news!" I blurted out as soon as he answered.

"I know what you're gonna say, Dave sighed." The reporters have phoned us as well."

"What are you going to do?"

"I coming over to talk to you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm on my way, in my car. I stopped to answer your call. I'll be there in ten."

"I'll be waiting." I replied and hang up the phone.

I only used a few minutes to make myself presentable and then I rushed down the stairs to wait anxiously by the door.

As soon as he knocked I opened the door. He stepped in and pulled me into a hug immediately. He backed up a bit and I went with him so the door closed behind us. I hugged him back hard, hoping to show him how much I wanted to support him.

We finally parted and I quickly led him upstairs to my bedroom so we could talk.

He quickly explained that a reporter contacted them shortly after he got home from Azimio's. Apparently, the reporter blithely informed Paul that he had the police report in his hands and wanted Dave to elaborate a bit more on his sexuality and his relationship to me to add a bit more back story.

"It sound like the guy has no idea that you might not want your sexuality exposed."

"He was completely oblivious. When I explained to him that I did not want my story published or anything in print about me being gay, he was dismissive. When I told him being labeled gay in public would make my life hell at school, he said 'Don't be ridiculous, I'm gay and have no problems being out. We live in 2010'; no one cares anymore."

"What an ass. I'm surprised he didn't say 'It gets better!"

Dave chuckled, "He actually did say that."

But you're a minor, can he even publish the story without your permission?" I asked.

"Oh. He promised not to use our real names." Dave said and smirked.

"Oh that's a big help! Nobody will be able to figure out who he's writing about - except maybe the entire McKinley School population!" I angrily state.

"My Dad called a lawyer friend of his who quickly arranged a meeting with the paper." They are holding off publishing it for a day or so.

"Just a day or so?" I ask.

"Yeah, we have time to mull over three options. Option One – Is not helping the reporter what so ever. Saying 'no comment' for every question and actively trying to block them from printing the story through court. But it is risky. It could go either way, the protection of a minor versus the right to free speech. The judge might decide that the paper has done enough to ensure our anonymity or he may ask for some conditions such as not mentioning that we're gay. The lawyer figures the paper will be allowed the right to publish most of the story either way. It will be a long and costly process and we may ultimately lose and have no control over what is printed. The second option is to try to work out a deal with the paper directly without going to court."

"What kind of deal?" I asked puzzled.

"Well we might be able to have some input as to what they say. We could cooperate and have and interview with them on the grounds that they suppress any mention of me being gay." Dave explained. "The lawyer isn't sure that the paper will go for it. We might have to just categorically deny it in the interview so that they would have to print my denial. For instance, I could say I told Robbie I was gay hoping he might let me go."

"What about the kiss in the locker room? It's in the police report."

"If they insist on publishing that fact, I would have to deny it. It would be your word against mine."

I gasped, feeling sick, "In other words you'd be calling me a liar in print?"

"I'm afraid so." Dave replied sadly not looking at me.

"Do you expect me to be okay with that? It's a lot to ask of me David. I want to protect you, but I have to think of myself as well. If you call me a liar publically, I 'll have to defend myself and I won't be able to stay your friend," I stated heatedly.

"I haven't told you the last option yet." Dave continued without waiting for me to respond. "The third option is that I have the interview with the paper and out myself as gay and verify what I said in the police report."

"What are you going to do?"

"Well my Dad thinks I should go with the last option. Be truthful as I can and state that I'm gay and let the chips fall where they may. My Mom on the other hand, thinks I should go for option 2, to deny strongly that I'm gay. She says that I can enroll in another school in another state that she knows of that has a gay conversion service. I can then come back after being cured, find a girl, get married and get back to a normal life."

"Are you serious? The conversion stuff again? I know I shouldn't disrespect your Mom. But she is obviously from another planet!"

"I gather you like my Dad's idea."

"It's not for me to decide. It is what you can live with."

"You're wrong! What you think is really important to me!." Dave paused and swallowed. "If I come out in the paper, then I want to come out all the way, and maybe date you?" He looked at me imploringly, totally taking me by surprise. "I don't think I can do this by myself. But if I know that I have a boy like you to cuddle up with and share my pain then I think I could do it."

I didn't know what to say. My throat contracted as I realized that what he was saying was the exact same thing I wanted. I wanted not to be alone anymore to have someone to hold on to, that understood exactly what I was going through.

He rushed to cover my silence by saying, "If you don't think that's a good idea to date then maybe I'll go with option 1. I'll go to court and try and stay the paper as long as possible and not cooperate or substantiate anything they write about me. I would then go along with some of Mom's idea. Like go to a different school in another state or something…" He trailed off, looking sad. It was definitely not what he wanted to do.

"You would out yourself so publically just to date me?" I ask, my eyes misting up.

"Well like my dad said to me - 'Look Dave," he said, "I can tell you really like Kurt. If you want to have any sort of a future with him, you are going to have to man up and own this."

Dave glanced at me sideways shyly and continued, "I've liked you for a long time but never had the guts to tell you. It was easier to pound you into the lockers to get you to notice me rather than to just talk to you. I used to be so scared all the time. Then I stared into a barrel of a gun and learned what it truly was to be scared."

He then reached for my hand and held it as he looked at me fully. "You must have been just as terrified but you still stepped in front of that gun to save me. You showed me what it is to have courage. Being scared all the time takes the power away from you but having courage gives you power over your destiny. If I tell the truth in an interview now, then everyone will know I'm gay. If I deny it in the paper now but am forced to come out later, then everybody will know I'm a liar, a coward AND gay."

"I'm so proud of you, Dave." I gushed. "I will definitely date you if you come out and if we actually survive the first few days of school after this article is published."

Dave chuckled and looked pleased. "Great! I guess I'll go with option 3 and admit I'm gay in the interview. I've already made a start. I came out to Az this afternoon as a matter of fact," he said proudly.

"Oh my God! How did he take the news?"

"He thought I was joking at first. He kept dismissing it and telling me I wasn't, that I couldn't be gay. Then when it started to sink in, he got really pissed at me for liking guys. He accused me of leering at him and told me that he'd kill me if I ever came on to him. Then he was angry and a little hurt because I told him I was definitely NOT interested in him sexually at all.

"Then he was all angry at you for making me gay. So I explained to him that I knew I was gay before I even met you; that I knew for sure I was gay from the age of twelve. That really pissed him off since that meant that in all the years I've known him, I never trusted him enough to tell him. Then I got really pissed because as I told him, how could I talk to him when he always talked such shit about homosexuality.

"He finally started to ask me questions; most of them were incredibly stupid but we started to really talk about things and our friendship. We cleared the air about a lot of shit and I don't think I was ever as open to him as I was then. Before I would always change the subject and deflect questions when we talked about relationships and stuff. I knew he finally accepted it and me when he started joking about it and got really crude. He wanted to know if I was banging you and if not, why not."

I groaned, "Why is it that straight people always think about sex when they discuss homosexuality?"

"That's all I think about – is gay sex." Dave said wistfully.

"What I mean is, there is much more to a relationship than sex. There's love, commitment and trust. Just because we're gay doesn't mean we're fucking like rabbits."

"Fucking like rabbits… " Dave repeated in a daze, staring at me. I get all shivery and considered saying some quip involving carrots. I shook my head and got back on topic.

"The important thing is - will he support you if you are out?" I asked.

"Sounds like it." Dave replied happily. "I phoned him once I found out about the story and he told me he has my back. He said if anybody tries anything, they'll have to answer to him "

"We can go to the teachers for help!" I exclaimed. "I can get Mr. Shuester to help, and Miss Pillbury, and Sue. She might be a crank but she's no homophobe. She'll support us, if only for the excuse to rough up wayward students."

"Coach Bieste will help out. She actually likes me." Dave added getting more enthused.

"Great! I'll call my Glee friends." I announced, feeling more enthused myself.

"Um, why?"

"Because once I tell them you are gay, they'll jump in to support you as well!"

"I seriously doubt that! I was horrible to them." Dave replied looking abashed.

"They will help out if they know what's good for them! Besides they won't be helping a bully, they'll be helping out my boyfriend." I was thrilled to be saying 'my boyfriend' for the first time. "I'm sure after this tragedy there will be lots of people that will want to stop any kind of bullying. If we're proactive, come prepared, and surround ourselves with friends, we might actually survive this!"

"Thanks Kurt! I feel a lot better about this. I'll tell Dad and he can set up the interviews. It would be best to have the article published before we go to school."

"I agree with you. If the paper comes out on Saturday then we can see what the fall out is like over the weekend and prepare our troops for Monday." I turned to Dave and he was staring at me funny.

"Kurt, I just realized you called me your my boyfriend." He remarked referring to my earlier statement.

"Well we have agreed to date so doesn't that mean you're my boyfriend? I'm no slut you know, I expect a full fledged relationship."

"Me too! I never it would be with you." Dave then smirked mischievously, "Hey! if you're my boyfriend, shouldn't we be kissing by now?"

"You're right. We can work this other stuff out later!" I didn't waste any time and climbed onto Dave's lap. He immediately fell backwards on the bed taking me with him. Giggling, I wrapped my arms around his neck and tentatively pressed my lips against his. It was kind of awkward at first. But by moving our lips around and trying out different pressures we quickly discovered what worked. We really started to make a meal out of each other's mouths and I couldn't believe how sweet he tasted and how aroused I was getting. I thrilled at the feeling of his strong arms caressing my back and moving down to my rump.

"Kurt? Oh Good Lord!" I heard my Dad gasp as he marched into the room and found us.

"Dad! What about some privacy!?" I yelled and scrambled off Dave while he jerked up into a sitting position.

"I just got off the phone with Paul and I didn't expect… Well I guess you've made your decision Dave. You're doing the interview and coming out." Dad said it like a statement rather than a question, as if he would accept nothing less from a boy kissing his son.

"That's correct sir. I'll go home and tell my dad my decision, but first I want to ask your permission to date your son."

"Judging by what was happening on that bed, it seems a little late to ask for my permission don't you think?" My dad remarked dryly.

"Sorry sir. I'll be going now sir." Dave then turned to me and gave me a quick peck on the cheek and shot out the bedroom, staying well clear of my dad, which was quite difficult since my dad taking up most of the doorway. I heard him thunder down the stairs and heard the door slam after him.

"I have a boyfriend!" I announced to my dad with a big smile and swooned back on the bed.

**Author Note Disclaimer: I'm no expert on what rules the press have to follow in a situation like this in USA since I'm not American. I hope this sounds feasible enough.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Dave's Recollection of the interview**

The next day was kind of a blur. Initially the reporter wanted Kurt and I to tell our stories together and even worse, he wanted to get a picture of us hugging just like in the previous photograph – a sort of before and after shot. I told him over the phone that with his talent for the gimmicky ideas, he should be working for Us or People magazine. I meant it as an insult but he gushed and said that's what he aspired to. I finally convinced him that the story should be low key for the sake of the grieving families who lost children and he reluctantly agreed to Kurt and me having separate interviews and no new photographs.

When the reporter visited us, Dad stayed with me for the interview but my mother left the house. She couldn't bear me trumpeting my depravity to all and sundry. It pained me that she couldn't support me but at least I had my dad. It was weird, for most of my childhood my dad just went to work and showed up for dinner. We did spend some father, son time together; and he gave me my interest in hockey and football, but we never really jelled. It was my mother that I was closest to. I went to her with all my problems and questions. She was my disciplinarian and my comforter. My father was easy going but distant. He had always deferred to her for almost every household decision and she had an answer or an opinion for everything. Since my dad never caused a scene or got angry, I tended to only worry about my mother's approval.

When I realized I was gay, I already knew what my parents' opinions were on homosexuals. My Dad had no real opinion except a vague 'to each his own – none my business' philosophy. My mother declared homosexuality an abomination and unnatural, an opinion I immediately internalized. Because my mother had said so, I knew I was an unnatural, sinful boy. For a while I used to go to church with her and desperately tried to pray away the gay. I gave up praying and church after a while and just tried to stay under the radar.

After the reporter left (he had seen Kurt first), I phoned Kurt and we compared interviews. We were both generally satisfied with we said and discussed what the overall reaction would be once the paper hit the stands. Both of us agreed that we wouldn't do anymore interviews period, not for other papers or TV stations. It seemed tasteless to discuss our private lives so soon after the shooting.

Kurt then chose to change the subject and drop a small bomb. "By the way, I told all the Glee kids and –"

"You told them what!?" I asked alarmed.

"I told them you were gay and coming out, of course."

"Kurt! Already? Just like that?"

"Well yes, David. You do realize the story is coming out tomorrow, don't you? Chad was super excited and told me he was going to work on it immediately and get it in before he's scooped."

"Chad? That stupid reporter's name was Chad? That figures."

"David, concentrate. As I said before, we need to mobilize the troops and that means telling said troops you're gay so we can be prepared."

"Well what did they say?" I asked.

"Pretty much everyone said they were shocked but not surprised."

"Jesus! Is that the only reaction I'm ever going to get?"

"Well Britney mentioned that Lord Tubbington knew immediately because he totally has the best gaydar and is never wrong."

"Who the hell's Lord Tubbington?"

"Never mind. Apparently Finn had always wondered why you didn't have a girl friend." Kurt volunteered. "And Santana thought that your style of bullying me was a tad too personal."

"Sounds like you guys had quite the discussion about me - or should I say dissection of me." I groused.

"We did actually, it was fun!" Kurt agreed sweetly, "and we're planning on getting together this afternoon at the Lima Bean to discuss you further, care to join us?"

"You must be joking!"

"Bring along Az too."

"No fucking way!"

Of course, Kurt managed to cajole and nag me until I promised that Az and I would join them at the Lima Bean.

I was nervous as hell meeting them. I didn't know what to expect. Because of their affiliation with Glee and Kurt, I had been pretty mean to them over the past couple of years so I was expecting a lot of mistrust and payback.

What I got instead was a tidal wave of support and good will; it totally bowled me over. Rachael jumped out of her seat and threw her arms around me and nattered at me a mile a minute about how I just have to meet her gay dads and what perfect role models they'd be for me.

Finn and Sam bumped fists with me and moved over two seats so I could sit beside Kurt. Az was welcomed to into the fold as well even though he looked like as if he was the only human in a group of disgusting and alarming aliens from another planet.

Every member of the Glee group including Mr. Schuester was there, and even Britney who was still on crutches from her gunshot wound. I was really touched by the welcome. In fact throughout the whole meeting I was on the verge of tears and felt extremely emotional, I was so thankful and grateful for their support.

We started throwing some ideas around about how to deal with the reaction to my news at school on Monday. We really had no idea if it would just be a non-issue or a huge one. Santana, Sam, Quinn and Puck were in the 'it will be a non-issue there's too much else to worry about' group, Kurt, Finn, Az and me were in the 'it will be a huge issue of biblical proportions group' and the rest of the table were in the 'it will be somewhere in between and we should be ready for anything' group, except Britney and Lord Tubbington who turned out to be her cat, were definitely in their own special little group. I was afraid for Britney, wondering if the pain meds she was on were too strong. I even whispered something to Kurt about it but he assured me that she was acting perfectly normally for Brit.

By the end of the discussion we had come up with a plan. There were always going to be two 'guards' (either one of the gleeks or Az) walking with Kurt and myself, and when we split up for classes two additional 'guards would be called via cell to escort us to classes. Mr. Schue assured us that he could arrange special passes for the 'guards' so that they could escort us to class and then walk to their own class. Everyone in the group including the teaching staff Miss Pillsbury, Sue Sylvester, Coach Beiste and Mr. Schue would keep in constant contact and would use twitter to swarm to the location of trouble, if there was any. Az and I figured that the trouble would start with the football and hockey jocks (except the guys in Glee), since we knew the other boys on those teams that would take exception to us. The two teams were especially hurting since they were the ones targeted by Robbie and going by the conversations Az over heard, they were defensive, angry and feeling a strong loss of control. Kurt and my friendship might be just the target they would set loose all their frustrations on.

We finally ended the meeting, and even if everything went to hell in a hand basket come Monday, I felt buoyed by the good will of all my new friends. Even Az was feeling the love and joked around like he was always a part of this special group. The best part though, was the fact that Kurt held my hand under the table through most of the meeting, stroking the back of it absentmindedly with his thumb. The feel of his warm hand in mine was a constant reminder of why I was outing myself, for him and for me, and our future together. It made my heart swell and gave me courage. At the end of the meeting, he walked me to my truck and even though we were in public and I wasn't officially out yet, I chanced it and gave him a big hug and quick peck on the cheek. Az saw it and grumbled that he didn't think he would ever get over the ick factor of his best friend mooning over girly-boy Hummel.

I went home in a surprisingly good mood on the eve of my very public outing. It was quickly destroyed once I got inside my house and felt the incredible tension that seemed to be the new norm between my parents. I didn't feel like a confrontation with my mother so I just shouted that I was home and ran up the stairs to the sanctuary of my bedroom. I phoned Kurt just to hear his voice for reassurance and had a pleasant time planning what we were going to do once this was all over. Kurt chatted happily about taking me shopping and redressing me, what movies he was looking forward to seeing and what restaurants he wanted to try. It was unbelievable that he wanted to do this all with me! l was still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that he wanted me as a boyfriend. I didn't want to end our conversationbut but it was getting late, so I wished him a good night. I was still anxious so I watched TV, which was basically staring into space with the box just happening to be on, until I was so exhausted l couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I got ready for bed. I tried to sleep but all I could do was lie there, bone weary, trying not to fret about what the next few days will be like once the shit hits the fan.

**A/N This chapter and the next are kind of short.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Kurt's Recollection of Saturday morning**

What a shit storm Saturday morning turned out to be! The land line phone started ringing off the hook from the moment we got up, since it seemed that everyone read their papers first thing in the morning. Within forty minutes of the first call, Dad yanked the phone cord out and we shut off all our cell phones. There were a few positive people, calling in support, but most people were very angry and abusive. Now, I expected the typical homophobic,"you're son's a fag" calls, but I wasn't expecting the very hurtful "have you no respect for the greiving families" calls. People were suggesting that Dave and I just wanted attention or were using this tragedy for our own selfish means. One person accused me of using my experience in the shooting as a platform to promote my political gay agenda. This seemed such an unfair accusation since it was the police leaking our interviews that got us in this situation in the first place. I also wasn't expecting the death threats either. Those were scarey and even if we didn't believe the stupid jerks to carry out their threats, Dad immediately reported them to the police.

I thought the phone calls were bad but Facebook was even worse, since many people could say what they wanted to in complete anonymity. In the end, I decided to temporarily close my account and wait out the trolls. I did peek at Dan's facebook page and it was even worse than mine. I had expected vitriol but nothing like the cold, callous hatred we were experiencing.

I was worried sick about David. I had a working solution for the phone situation, I was completely ignoring texts and only answering the ring tones of my friends who phoned me. I tried sporatically through the morning to call Dave, but he was not responding. He obviously had his cell phone switched off . I wanted to see him but I didn't dare go outside.

We constantly heard knocks at the front door and back door,and taps on the windows which we ignored. People were actually coming up to our windows and peering in. We could see the shadows through our drawn drapes. Dad got angry and opened the door to yell at the jerks but came face to face with a big group of journalists camped outside our door.

During the morning I read the article featuring Dave and myself. I could understand why people were mad, the article made a big deal about us being gay heroes. It started with the police report (glossing over the fact it was leaked). Either Chad had mashed the two interviews together and edited it in a way to make it like a narrative or it was leaked that way by a creative person on the police force. It was cut to it's bare bones but it was still an exciting read. I had lived it, yet I was racing through it almost wondering what would happen next. After the police report the rest of the article was structured in a question and answer format. Most of the general questions about what happened at the school were my answers. Most likely because I refused to answer any personal questions about Dave and myself during the interview. Most of the personal questions about us were answered by Dave. He held nothing back; he talked about his bullying of me before the shooting why he did it and how grateful he was that I bravely the stepped between him and gunman. He talked about how difficult it was to be an gay teen in conservative Lima and why he was coming out after being in the closet for so long. He described how close we had gotten since the shooting me and how proud he was to be my boyfriend.

The article ended with the reporter opining in very political terms about gay youth and gay rights. I was left feeling uncomfortable about how the article became his soapbox about gay equality rather than about bullying or gun control. It's no wonder we got such angry phone calls. Chad was waving a red flag to a bull and was using our experiences as his material. I threw down the paper in disgust.

"Monday's gonna to be bad." Finn announced gloomily.

"You're worried about Monday? We have to survive today and Sunday first!" I respond.

"Is it really going to be that bad?" Carol askes,"Surely by Monday, everything will have blown over."

"I doubt it, You don't understand the jocks the way I do." Finn answers.

"Why is it going to be so bad?" I ask, genuinely interested since I believe Finn when he says he knows the jocks.

"It's like this. They lost so many of their own. They have been humbled and feel weak right now. Then you guys come along and start bragging about what heroes you are and-" Finn raises his hand against my protests, "I not saying it's true, I'm talking the way they'll be thinking. They see that you braved Robbie and got away scott free, not only that but one of their own decides he's gay and wants to date his previous victim. What does that make them? They bullied kids too, so are their victims going to think they're gay? The only way to get back their control and to avenge their friends is to make your and Dave's life as miserable as they can."

"Finn, you don't think like that do you? You don't think that Dave and I want any of this publicity do you?" I asked, suddenly needing reasurance.

"Of course not. I've been with you every step of the way haven't I? I've seen how both you and Dave have anguished about all this."

"Thanks Finn, I couldn't ask for a better step-brother." I respond warmly, meaning every word.

By the early afternoon, I couldn't stand it any longer, I wanted to see Dave. I determined to brave the press outside so I got dressed up and with my Dad's and Finn's help, I pushed through the group of media people at the door and made it to the car. I couldn't back out of my own driveway because of the journalists and their cars so I drove over my lawn, driving like I care if I hit anybody. Boy, did they scramble out of the way pretty quick.

I headed off to Dave's house followed by a posse of media people. When I finally arrived at Dave's house, I could see it too was under seige with reporters and photographers wanting to get a story. I marched up to the front door and knocked loudly and insistently, hoping that someone inside would come to the door. Of course a deluge of questions were screamed at me as I stood by the door. I was even jostled a bit as the group closed in on me. It was very disconcerting and scary so I pounded on the door more desperately. Finally, there was an brief flutter of a curtain, a pause, and then the door opened to show a very beleaguered and harried Paul Karofsky. He smiled at me briefly and quickly ushered me into the house away from the frenzied media. I had no time to relax though because as soon as I stepped into their livingroom, I came face to face with Mrs. Karofsky. She was an attractive woman but I could see night away which parent Dave got his scary scowl from.

She looked at me like I was something that climbed out from under a rock, and she said,"So you're Kurt, the boy who caused all this trouble! You're an evil, and selfish punk bent on destroying my family!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Dave's recollection of confrontation with his Mom**

"That's not fair Mom!." I shouted, outraged at her remark. I had just stepped into the room after hearing kurt's voice, eager to see him. "I keep telling you, Kurt didn't make me gay. I was gay before I met him. If Kurt wasn't around, it would be another boy." Kurt gave me a look with an eyebrow raised that had me quickly back peddling. "Not that here is anyone like Kurt, he is special and unique and I am lucky he even notices me." I smiled winningly at him hoping he understood. My mother gave me a glare that could remove paint and my smile quickly fades.

"God is listening to your depraved talk!" she shouts.

"Mom! " I shout right back, "Do you really want to know who caused all this trouble? Do you want to know who made me gay? God did!"

"David karofsky how dare you say such a thing!" my Mom gasped.

"David be careful, that is too much." cautioned my dad.

"No it's about time someone told her! Mom, I'm a gay teenager - I was a gay child and a gay baby. I was probably a gay fetus in your womb!"

"Are you being disgusting to shock me? There is no way that you know you were gay as an innocent baby, you have grown into a twisted boy. If you would just accept Jesus into your heart..."

"I will still be gay, only miserable!" I interrupt."As for the innocent child part, do you know why I loved Home Improvement when I was seven? I really liked the two older brothers on the show."

"Ooohhh! I liked those two boys too! I especially thought the blonde one was cute!" Kurt cuts in enthusiastically. I threw him a 'you're not helping' look and he quickly shut up.

I continued, hoping in vain that she will start to understand. "I was too young to know what I was feeling but I wished I could live at their house and be their friend. I just knew I liked both of them a lot. As I got older they figured prominently in my imagination." I stopped talking for a second, feeling embarrassed. I didn't really talk about to my Mom about sexual fantasies. She wasn't interrupting and actually seemed to be listening so I continued.

"By ten I started to hear the words homosexual, gay and fag. I realized that not only were they were different words for the same thing, but that thing was feared and despised by my friends and family. I was afraid I was one but was too scared to ask questions because I already knew that to protect myself I couldn't talk to anyone. I had already absorbed enough negetive feedback about gays from you and the church that I was sure God hated me and I was scared I was going to hell. By twelve I knew for sure I was gay and I hated myself because of it. I used to pray to God every single day to please make me straight. Eventually, I decided that there was no use in believing in or pleading with God anymore because he wouldn't answer my sincere prayers. That's why I stopped going to church with you Mom. What would be the point if I was damned to hell for something I couldn't control, couldn't help but feel?" I looked at my Mom, tears ran down her face and she looked horrified but she was still listening to me.

I kept talking,"I felt so alone and vulnerable, terrified that someone would discover my horrible secret. I was able to keep my secret hidden until highschool when I first saw Kurt. I was instantly attracted to him. He was obviously gay, and all the guys picked on him, including me. At first he was closeted, quiet and tried to blend in with the rest of the kids. But one day, after he helped win a football game, he came out. I secretly watched to see what would happen to him. Instead of being struck by lightening or feeling the wrath of an angry God, he blossomed. It was immediately obvious that he became happier and more confident in himself. Before he used to sneak down the halls avoiding people, now he strutted, obviously not caring what people thought. I'm ashamed to say that I wanted to bring him down. What right did he have to be so secure and brimming with confidence being gay, when I was so miserable. It grated on me that I was so hyper aware of him and what he did and yet he barely noticed me. I was only prominent in his life when I was throwing him into lockers. I bullied him a lot just to push myself into his awareness. He finally confronted me about my behavior in the boy's locker room. He was so close to me and even though he was yelling and calling me names, it felt so intimate that I forgot myself for one second and kissed him. Suddenly, someone else knew my secret and I was terrified. I ramped up my bullying half hoping it would scare Kurt into silence and half hoping I could continue the weird intimacy I felt we had. I would have kept up the bullying if it wasn't for Robbie deciding to shoot up the school. Being called out as a bully, facing imminent death made me realise what a lie my life was. It was like God's wake up call making me face truths about myself. I had stopped believing in God because I felt that he stopped believing in me. Now I think, maybe he did answer my prayers, maybe he does have a plan for me. Maybe I'm supposed to be gay for a reason."

"Yes, I think you're right." my Mom replied. "God does have a plan for you. He has given you a tough mission and hard challenge in life because you are so special! He may have given you gay tendences" my mother allowed, "but he loves you so much and he wants you to fight the gay tendencies to become a better stronger person. If you are gay, then you must lead a celibate life to live in his glory." she finished quite earnestly.

"So what you are saying is in order to keep his love I must live a diminished life with no physical love."

"I didn't say it would be easy,but in the end it will be worth it, living for eternity in God's love."

I pursued the religious arguement further because Mom was finally discussing it rather than shouting at me and calling me a sinner. Hopefully I could reach her. "Maybe God wants me to be happy here and now. Maybe he's made me gay so I can experience a different kind of love. Maybe he answered my prayers by allowing me to fall madly in love with Kurt." I chanced a gance at Kurt he looked somewhat stunned at my revelation.

"No! Don't you see! He's proof of the devil at work! You must resist the temptation. That boy is out to destroy you!". My mother shouted, pointing right at Kurt.

My shoulders sagged in defeat. I just wasn't getting through to her."How you say that! Kurt is the sweetist, most amazing boy I have ever met! Kurt's example made me believe that I can be happy and have a good life. He has helped me face myself, helped me to accept who I am, and has helped me realise that I'm worthwhile, just as I am."

"It's all a mirage conjured up by the devil! You have to fight it! David, you are loved by both your father and me. If you truly love me you will turn him out of our house immediately and never talk to him again."

I bulked at that and declared, "Mom, if you truly love me, you would recognize how much Kurt means to me and accept him as my boyfriend.

"I'll never accept him! I want him out of the house!" my mother hollered.

"I love him and he's staying!" I shout right back.

"You speak of love but all I hear is lust!" my mother points out.

"You're right Ma, l do have lustful feelings for Kurt, besides the feelings of love. I can barely wait to take him in my arms and find out just what amazing things two gay teenagers can do with each other when they're alone. I look at him right now and all I can think about is taking up to my room and making out."

"You are talking like a pervert!" my mom gasped.

"No he's not! He's talking like a typical teen." my dad suddenly pipes up. "He has raging hormones like any normal kid. Because he is gay, they simply get stirred up by boys rather than girls."

"You're encouraging this?" my mother asked him incredulously.

"I'm facing reality. Like any parent I worry that my child will start to have sex. Since Dave is gay, it means that he will get involved with other boys, Kurt is a great kid ard if he makes my boy happy then I'm happy. If they want to persue a relationship then I will not stand in their way," my father stated.

"I've seen my son change from a very cheerful, happy child to a sullen, morose teenager that hardly ever smiled. Talking about sports seemed to be the only topic on which he would open up slightly. I knew something was bothering him but I had no idea what it was. The bad grades, the surliness and rumours of him being a bully had me very worried. There seemed to be such a gulf between us that I didn't know how to begin to talk about. For me, finding out that Dave is gay is a relief! I was worried that it was something more serious like some flaw in his character. Even through all the troubles we've experienced since the shooting - the arguments, the invasion of privacy, and the nasty calls, - I feel like I have my boy back. Dave is so much happier and truer to himself now that he accepts he's gay, so I how can I NOT accept that he's gay. Do I want Dave to stay closeted, pretending to be straight just to spare our family some uncomfortable moments or do I want him to live his life happily and comfortable in his own skin. For me there is no question, I would rather my son be gay and have full relationships with men like Kurt than be a closeted, lonely and unhappy man."

"Thanks Dad." I choke out, almost in tears.

"You accept his lifestyle choice. Isn't that convenient! You want to be his friend not his father. It's no wonder that he has turned out like this if you're his example of manliness! I've always had to be the disciplinarian." My mother hotly retorted and actually stamped her foot.

I could see my Dad's face darkening. This was going to be another nasty argument.

Kurt suddenly pipes up, "It sounds like you still have a lot to work out. Perhaps I should go."

"Yes perhaps you should." My mother spits out rudely

"Don't you speak to him like that!" I snap. "Or my Dad for that matter. You're the only one here who should shut up and leave. You have done nothing to support me in this. The only thing you have done is to try to tear me down and rebuild me into some fantasy son that you will never have! Dad and Kurt accept me as who I am. Kurt's my friend even though he's seen me at my worst, as a nasty bully that preyed on him constantly. He stepped in front of a gunman and saved my life because he saw something in me, a scared boy or my humanity. All you see is a sinner, you don't even try too see who I really am." I try and calm down a bit because I see my outburst has really hurt her.

"Mom, I get it. I know you think you're helping. I get that you are trying to save my soul for the ever after. But this is the here and now and I am more worried about what's going to happen to me as a flesh and blood human being. This is the toughest situation I have ever been in. Being outed so publically is living my worst nightmare. There are times when I would rather kill myself then face what I have to face on Monday. But then I look at Kurt and see a future being loved and loving someone. Being with Kurt is the the only thing that makes me want to walk through the great piles of shit that I'll have to walk through. If you can't accept that than too bad. Loving Kurt is the only way I'm going to survive this."

"Dave, take Kurt upstairs and let me talk to Your Mother."

"Sure Dad come on Kurt, I'll show you my room."

"I'll not have sodomites performing gross indecenties in my house!" my mother shouted.

"Well I can promise you we won't be sodomites, we're not that far along in our relationship."

"David, don't be flippant, just be safe. Use condoms even if you are not at that stage yet."

"Dad!" I exclaim embarrassed, glancing at Kurt to see his reaction. He looked unsure of what is happening exactly. I took his hand gently and led him to the stairs. He didn't resist so I took that as a positive sign.

"David Mark Karofsky! You stay down here!" My mother yelled, as we started up the stairs. I kept moving and Kurt thankfully followed ignoring my mother's loud protests.

As I stomped up the stairs with Kurt trailing behind me, I was inwardly freaked out. I wondered what he must he think of my famiIy, the crazy religious talk and my confessions on how deep my love was for him. It was true that he seemed happy to be my boyfriend but what I was feeling was a whole other level. He couldn't possibly feel the same as me in such a short time. He must be wondering what sort of mixed up guy and insane family has he gotten involved with?

We finally made it to bedroom and I closed the door behind us. I was just about to explain to Kurt that I didn't expect reciprocation for my feelings when I forcibly grabbed by the collar and hauled to the bed. Kurt wasted no time in pushing me on the mattress and scrabbling on top of me.

After a few moments of hot desperate kisses I pushed him up slightly to give us air. "It's been a week since the shooting and the day before that I was still bullying you. You can't possibly have the same feelings as me. Kurt, aren't you freaked out by my intense feelings for you?"

"Are you kidding? Did you hear yourself when standing up to your mother? What you said about me being the only reason you're able to survive this ordeal was the most romantic, amazing thing anybody has ever said about me. I'm a gay diva, I live for that kind of drama! I don't care that I might not be at the same level of feelings for you, because believe me I'm falling in love with you fast enough! I'll soon catch up! Now shut up talking and kiss me, you've made me incredibly horny." To make his point, he thrust his hips against me and I could feel his erection through my pants. The heated sensations travelled up through from my pelvis and almost blew my head off.

I had seen enough gay porn to kinda know how it was supposed to go but the sheer incoordination of love making took me by surprise. Ripping clothes off each other for instance isn't as easy as it looks in movies. Kurt elbowed me in the gut and winded me trying to get my belt off, I almost took Kurt's eye out with my nose when I missed his mouth with a passionate kiss. We both almost rolled off the bed as we fumbled around. In the end, it didn't matter that we were both overly eager and inexperienced, as soon as Kurt wrapped his had around my cock I was in rapture. I reached into his pants and grabbed my prize and we settled in for mutual stimulation. I knew it would be over quickly and it was. I stiffened and came first, with one of the most powerful climaxes I ever had and Kurt followed soon after. Afterwards we cuddled and just stared into each other's face wearing big goofy grins. There was a promise in the air of a future that was going to be fun and happy with us together.

We must have dozed off because I was jerked awake by a tap at my bedroom door. Kurt woke up too and sat upright, running a hand through his hair. Luckily we had cleaned up and fixed up our clothes before falling asleep so I just moved off the bed and walked to the door. When I opened it my dad stood there with an unreadable face.

"Sorry to bother you son, but I thought I should let you know that your mother is gone."

"What do you mean, gone?" I asked not making any sense out of it.

"She's moved out. She phoned up her pastor and asked them to let her stay a few days, she then packed up a suit case and walked out," Dad explained sadly.

"Why didn't you call me before?"

"I think you both need some space. Your Mom just wanted to leave without more confrontation."

"I don't believe it." I said almost in tears. "I pushed her too far, she just can't stand me anymore."

"Don't blame yourself David! You are just standing up for yourself and that's good." Dad stated emphatically. "It's true that your coming out has been a catalyst for change, but it's been a long time coming. Since your mother has been involved with that radical Christian church, we have grown apart as a couple. Maybe it's a good thing that she's gone for bit, – on us as a family."

"When's she coming back?"

"Ahh," he scratched his head and looked away. "She's staying with the pastor until she finds an apartment."

I was sort of expecting that answer but it was still quite a blow to hear it. "She's not coming back." I say to myself hardly believing it. I felt a smaller hand hold on to mine and I squeezed it gratefully.

"Dave, I'll stay if you want me to but I feel like I'm intruding on something very personal. I think I should go so that you can talk things over with your dad." Kurt stated very solemnly.

I turned to ask him to stay a little longer but I noticed the approval in my Dad's eyes, I guess we did have a lot of things to talk about privately. Kurt amazed me again with his perception and ability to read a situation. I smiled and nodded my thanks and gave him a quick hug and kiss.

"Thank you Kurt," my dad replied, "Dave and I should probably discuss some things." Kurt went to shake Dad's hand but my dad pulled him into a hug. "You're a really good kid." He added gruffly.

Kurt waved his goodbyes and headed down the stairs. I invited my Dad into my room to discuss the issue with my mother and what it means to us.


	9. Chapter 9

**Kurt's POV**

By the time I left the house most of the reporters had left. They had either run off to suck the blood out of some new tragedy or they followed Mrs. Karofsky. Either way I was happy to brush past the couple of press holdouts ignoring their questions and get in my car for home.

When I entered the house I found my family watching me on TV; apparently the my little tussle with news crews in front of Dave's house made it on the evening news.

"Is it a slow news day or something?" I grumbled as I sat down to watch.

There was a shot of the outside of Dave's house with me pulling up in the driveway, The camera jiggles because the camera man must be running up to the car. Other journalists are seen running to the car. I can barely be seen amongst all the people crowded around me asking questions. I make my way with difficulty up to Dave's door. By now the camera is practically in my face and a question is asked off screen.

"What does't feel like to be an openly gay hero?"

The look I gave the reporter is priceless. I look pained as it it is the stupidest question I have ever had to answer. I answer with exaggerated patience in a tone that you would address an idiot with,"I only agreed to do the interview yesterday because the police report was leaked to the press. I addressed all the questions then, I have nothing else to say on the issue. Excuse me!" I then turned back and knocked on Dave's door. It was fascinating to watch myself because I don't remember actually talking to them. The camera shifts around as I'm knocking on the door and gets in even closer. Above chorus of shouted questions one question is heard loud and clear, "Are you and David Karofsky lovers?" l look absolutely shocked and horrified,"None of your damned business! Get that mic out of my face!" l shout and bang on the door harder. The last shot is a shot of Dave's dad opening the door and pulling me inside and closing the door. The clip ended with a talking head wrapping up the "on location" part of the segment with a glib comment about young gay love before sending it back to the studio. The rest of the segment was filled with an on going parade of so-called experts pontificating on various subjects like Dave and I as gay heroes, issues gays face, youth violence and bullying in school. They included of course, interviews from a crazy religiousous lady who spewed out homophobic venom, an obviously destraught mother who had lost a child in the shooting who was angry that Dave and I were using this tragedy for our own political agenda, and a - dumb as a box of hammers - McKenly hockey player who said he always thought that Karofsky was queer and hated changing in front of him because he feared being leered at. I was pretty disgusted with the whole thing and excused myself and went off to my bedroom.

I spent the rest of the day phoning my friends to make sure we were all prepared for Monday. I enjoyed eating dinner with my wonderful family, thankful they were so supportive and empowering. Spending that small amount of time with Dave's mom made me realize how lucky I was to have such an understanding father and welcoming - soon to be step mom - Carol. Would I have been angry and frustrated like David? I don't think I would be a bully, but I do have some dark tendencies. I can be manipulative and insulting. I still cringe when I think of how I coerced Rachael into dressing slutty to spoil her chances with Finn, I am that ashamed of my behavior. The worse part is that I behaved that way despite having a loving father. I couldn't even imagine how bitter and cynical I would be if I had an intolerant mother like Dave's. It is hard enough to deal with intolerance and hatred when you feel confident in your identity, but to try and be open like Dave is attempting, while having this inner voice that you've had since childhood, telling you your worthless and wrong must be a nightmare. It made me appreciate my boyfriend even more.

Dave phoned me later that night and we discussed his parents and what had happened during the day. I tried to encourage him the best I could, by keeping the conversation light, breezy and by talking about our future together. I talked to him about long range plans like how we would spend Christmas together and I teased him about Valentine's Day, suggesting that he had better start preparing now to romance me because I was expecting something original and creative. It started getting late but we were both reluctant to get off the phone. It was my Dad's insistent nagging, telling me to go to sleep, that made me finally say goodnight to my boyfriend. I almost said 'I love you' over the phone at many points during or conversation. I realise that I had such strong feelings for him, but was it love? I was flattered by the monumental step Dave was taking to be with me andI felt like I was being swept away with the drama and excitment of the past few days. But could I really move from hatred to love in a week? I decided that I would have to be absolutely sure of my feelings before I said anything.

On Sunday about mid-morning in the middle of my weekend skin cleansing regimen, (even in the most trying times a person must keep his face moisterised and exfoliated).Puck phoned me with some startling news. Azimio had phoned him because he had been tagged with a photo of Dave's house. Puck sent me the photo and asked me to take a look at it. Dave's house was a mess! It had been TP 'd, tagged with 'House Of Fag' and other crass homophobic taunts, and had been pelted by eggs and rotten vegetables. Though it wasn't visible, it was most likely hit with pee balloons since that was the calling card of the football players. I freaked and yelled at my dad to check the front of our house. Dad shouted up that he and Finn had already checked and we were spared. I suppose the jocks had tired themselves out after working on Dave's house so creatively that they ran out of time or energy to hit our house. I was felt sick to my stomach thinking about poor Dave and his dad having to face that and started lamenting on what a horrible homophobic society we live in. Puck who was still on the line, started shouting at me to quit the drama because everything was in hand. Apparently, he and the rest of the Glee guys had already sprung into action. He was bringing his power washer that he owned for his pool cIeaning business, my dad was getting his power washer from the garage, Az was busily buying paint for a good deal from a cousin who owns a hardware store and the rest of the guys were collecting garbage bags, sponges and cleaning stuff from their homes. I quickly volunteered to mobilize the girls for food and other supportive duties. Puck declared it was already taken care of, Carol was already making sandwiches and the Glee girls were taking care of drinks, snacks and desserts. Though I was pleased that all these plans were made to help Dave and his Dad, I was really annoyed I wasn't consulted or involved in the planning process.

"Why am I the last to know about this and why are you the one telling me and not my own family!?"

"I'm the only one with the gonnads to lnterrupt your beauty regimen." Puck states proudly. I sadly realize I'm a victim of my own iron-clad rules. Obviously my family took my threats of "inturrupt me while I'm cleansing and you'll meet a grisly end" a little too literally.

"Well you've told me, grab your power washer and get down there!" I answered testily.

"Yes sir! Right away sir!" He blew a rasberry in my ear and hangs up. He's so juvenile.

When we arrive at Dave's it's much worse than the image I saw on the phone. Everybody gets right to work cleaning up the mess, they laugh and joke and pretend to have fun though it's a bit forced. Dave hugged me and kissed me on the cheek even though I could tell he was rather self conscious. It didn't help that the girls let out a chorus of ahhs. I gave him full points for trying his best. After a while the forced cheerfulness became more natural as we saw the progress of our work. Rachael's Dads joined us and being natural hams, started us all singing show tunes starting with "Whistle While You Work" much to Az's chargin. A couple of Dave's neighbours who lived a few doors down, approached us and asked if they could help out too. It turned out that they had two boys, both gay who were away at college. They encouraged Paul to join the local chapter of PFlag.

In the afternoon, we all stopped for a fabulous lunch that the girls had prepared. After we were all sated with food, Rachael, Santana, Britney, Mercedes and Quin did a cup song with their empty cups which was very entertaining, and Puck picked up his guitar and lead us in some songs. Actually he and Arty of all people, did a brilliant duet and I even think Az was impressed. They're an odd pair but I think they could be great friends if they gave themselves a chance.

I suddenly had a great idea for a song and since it was unlikely that Puck would know it, I sang it acapella. It was called 'Secret Love' and is a well known song among the LGBT community. Doris Day sang it ages ago in her movie musical 'Calamity Jane'. I figured Dave probably hadn't heard it before but would probably like it. I didn't realize what an effect would have on him. I hardly finished the song when he pulled me into a bone crushing hug. He made a choking sound and I realized he was weeping. I could feel my shirt dampening due to his tears. I felt dreadful. I should have realized that such a powerful emotive song would be too much to bare at such a stressful time as this. He and I left the table and walked along the side of the house for more privacy.

"I am so sorry David, it was thoughtless of me to sing such a song. I must have embarrassed you in front everyone."

"Don't apologise for such a beautiful song. I wasn't embarrassed in front of your - our friends. I cried because I feel like I can cry in front of them, I can be myself and not be judged." I smiled and went on my tip toes to kiss him when I realized he was no longer looking at me. He was staring out towards the picnic table where a reporter was standing around talking to our friends. "Quick! Let's slip into the house through the back door." Dave whispered.

I nodded and we quietly moved to the back of the house and went inside. I was quite pleased when Dave jumped me the moment we entered the house. He had me pressed up against the closed door and immediately peppered me with gentle kisses all over my face and neck.

"Stop! Stop! You masher!" I giggled and banged my fists lightly and futiley on his broad chest. He responded by picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder, marching into the living room with his prize. "Unhand me you foul brute!" I cried dramatially, while slapping his ass to spur him on. When he gets to the couch he drops me on it and throws himself on top of me, snarling and sloppering into my neck. I giggle like an idiot when he starts to blow rasberries on my neck and parts of my chest he can reach. Although I have forgiven him for his past bullying, I have seen more of his darker personality traits for a longer period of time so the many positive traits he has, like playfulness and affection, are still a surprise for me. I hope he continues to delight me with his character as he becomes more comfortable with himself and us. I lightly brush my hands down his sides and he flinches strongly.

"Why David Karofsky, are you ticklish?"

"No." he lies badly.

He has to spend the next several minutes defending himself against my tormenting fingers as we roll and tumble on the couch. Finally, he manages to pin my arms to my side and uses his advantage to kiss me very thoroughly and passionately. I have had enough of silliness too and I kiss him back with vigor. Our excitment ramps up quickly and Dave lets my arms loose so I can massage his ass while we french kiss. We happily makeout for a time, until we hear the front door bang and feet stomping into the room. We barely manage to get into a sitting position before Rachael Berry flounces in.

"Hey guys, that reporter out there heard about the vandalism done to your house and came to investigate." Rachael chatted away, totally oblivious to our tussled hair, red faces and erections we tried to hide. "I think he was impressed but a little disappointed that we had cleaned up much of the damage. Hank, that's his name, he's really dreamy by the way, his name should be hunk, wanted to interview you guys but we said that you aren't doing any more interviews so he asked us questions instead. He's so nice and so sympathetic. He spoke with everyone but he spent ages talking to me and my dads and wants to do an in depth interview with us later. My dads both agree that I have talk about my Broadway aspirations in our interview; any exposure can help my career." She finally ran out of steam and stopped, looking at us expectantly.

"What?!" I ask exasperated.

"You have to come out and get your picture taken. Dave's Dad says that the house looks even better than it did before 'cause it really needed a paint job. Hank wants to get a picture of all of us in front of the house to really show those bozo's who defaced it that we're stronger then they are. Hank promises not to ask you any questions. So tidy yourselves up and come out." After she said her piece she turned on her heel and trounced out, finally leaving us in peace.

"We have to do what she says don't we, or she won't give us any peace," Dave signed resigned to his fate.

"Nope."

"Rachael certainly is exhausting"

"Yep." I sighed, "Welcome to my world."

Dave grabbed my hand and sqeezed it gently,"I love your world!"

How could I not hug the man too bits after saying something so wonderful as that.

The picture turned out great and it was fun to pose for. Hank kept his promise, he didn't ask Dave or myself any awkward questions. The whole group of us assembled on David's front step. The neighbours with the gay sons had gone home and brought back their huge rainbow flag that they use for PFLAG meetings. We held the flag in front of us and smiled and waved at the camera. I have to say we looked fabulous, very strong and Dave saw the picture he said it sent a huge "Screw you haters! We're doing fine," message to the assholes that defaced his house. We all cheered at that and when Rachael shouted "Group hug!" it wasn't weird at all. I somehow ended up under Azimio's armpit and although it wasn't pleasant and kind of strange, it was also amazing. What was a shitty morning, certainly turned out to be a magical afternoon of friendship and laughter - but it was about to get much, much better. The house was finished and everyone was hugged and appreciated, so my friends started to pack up to leave. Paul was invited back to the neighbour's house for a drink and a chat. Az came up to us and explained that a few of the guys were going to his place for gaming.

"I was going to ask you two to join us but since your Dad's going to be out most of the evening I know what you guys will be up to," he laughed.

Okay that comment was stranger than being under Az's armpit.

I could see my Dad staring at us and when he caught my eye, he shouted over to me that he expected me home by nine since I had school tomorrow, he also mouthed "be safe" which I tried to ignore and I hoped nobody else saw. Parents! Sheesh!

Love making with David that evening was wonderous! I never expected it to be so sexy, rewarding, fun, energetic, hilarious, loving, moving, rambunctious, incredible, tingly, and humbling. I have another hundred or so adjectives but these will do for now. I got naked with another boy for the first time in my life. It was a little scarey but since Dave was equally self-conscious I felt reborn and proud, rather than timid and embarrassed. I guess it was the way Dave's eyes raked over my form with such open admiration. I felt the same way about Dave's body; he was so deliciously manly. We spent time exploring each other 's bodies, kissing and caressing parts we had never seen before. I was lying on my back and Dave was on his stomach when he decided to have a conversation with my penis.

"Hey little Kurt, howya doing? he asked, giving it a small kiss on its head which made me quiver with anticipation.

"Okay Dave, how are you?" I say in as low a voice as I can possibly go. It makes us both chuckle.

Dave smiles at me and continues to talk to my cock. "How is Kurt treating you little fella?"

"Terrible! Why he manhandles me practically every day!" my cock answers in the same low gruff voice. This sets us off giggling again.

Dave tugs on my penis and replies,"For All your complaining you still seem pretty attached to him." That comment send both of us of in a fit of more giggles.

I roll Dave over and am eager to speak with his dick, which seems to have a high voice with a Speedy Gonzales accent. Several really bad puns and corny jokes later, we're almost crying with laughter holding our aching sides.

That all stops the moment I wrap my lips around Dave's shaft. I didn't expect it to be as intoxicating as it was. There was a surprizing mixture of aromas, textures and tastes. His shaft was rock hard but the skin wrapped around it was soft and velvety and his balls were bigger and heavier then my own. David protested at first because he hadn't showered, but I didn't mind in the least for the different scents and tastes were of him and it was so masculine. The best part was that he had the most beautiful and serene look on his face when he eventually climaxed.

"I'm gay and I have seen the face of God and he loves me!" Dave declared dramatically when he recovered and then gives an enthused "My turn!"

It was simply rapturous to feel Dave's warm moist lips wrapped around me, kissing and sucking until I was completely undone. I yawned happily when it was over, "I think I could sleep for a hundred years, I feel so sated."

"I'll set my phone alarm for 8 pm so you will have plenty of time to shower, dress and drive home for nine." Dave replied and we snuggled together under the covers. He cradled me in his arms and legs in a spooning position and I wondered to myself how did I ever fall asleep before, without Dave cuddling me.

"I love you so much Kurt Hummel." Dave said just before we drifted off to sleep.

"I love you too, David karofsy." I responded with absolute sincerity and conviction. He didn't say anything but I know he heard me because I feel him smile against my skin as he pulled me in a little closer in his warm embrace.

**A/N Last chapter coming up!**


	10. Chapter 10

**My final meeting with Dave and Kurt**

I seemed to have everything ready for the last interview with Kurt and Dave. Note pad, several working pens, tape recorder, and because I had developed a friendship with them over the past few weeks, I had splurged and bought good coffee and assorted pasteries from a little bakery down the street. Now all I had to do was wait. Both boys have a tendency to be punctual so I have no doubt that they will be on time, I was just finished early.

I went through my notes one last time to see if I missed anything important. My notes consisted of the infamous merged police report that someone had leaked to the press that precipitated Dave's outing, and seperate interviews with the boys still in their first person narrative. Now I just need the last part of the story to finish off the piece.

I had originally thought that this was going to be a small fluffy piece - sort of "Where are they now?" article since it's been almost a year and a half since the shooting at McKinley High School. I figured that since Kurt and Dave had not consented to any further interviews other than the initial one they did, it wasn't very likely I would have enough material for anything more. When I decided to contact Kurt I had expected a polite but cold rebuff. The call certainly started of started badly; as soon as I as I requested an interview his tone changed and I could tell he was going to brush me off, but luckily before he hung up, I mentioned the name of my blog and his whole demeanor changed. He suddenly became quite receptive to the idea. It turned out that Kurt was a big fan and follower of my little "Homo In Ohio" blog.

I suppose that's not surprising since my blog documents LGBT life in our state, with a particular interest in queer youth. He asked for my number and told me he would contact me with an answer as soon as he discussed the idea with Dave. Fifteen minutes later, I was dicussing plans for my interview in a conference call with the pair of them. They were the ones to suggest a more comprehensive interview. Now that some time had passed since the shooting, they actually wanted to talk about their experiences. Dave in particular was interested in helping other teens that found themselves in a situation where one or more parent was intolerant of their orientation. I remember being quite impressed with their maturity and willingness to share their story. They were so candid and detailed, that I almost have too much information. I'm afraid the actual piece I write will leave out a lot of details, particularly the discription of their lovemaking. I'm just glad I had the priviledge of hearing it. Editing this work will be difficult but it will be a labor of love.

That first time we met in person, was three weeks ago and after interviewing the pair individually in their homes, I am even more impressed with these remarkable boys. I had decided that for our last interview, I would talk to the boys together, hoping that my followers gain a sense of how compatable and loving they are with each other.

I heard a knock at the door, right on time, and I quickly let my new found friends in. Kurt imediately reaches for me and gives me a affectionate full on hug, where as Dave, still a little reserved, shakes my hand and gives me a bro half hug. After we exchange pleasantries, and sort out the coffee and pastries, we settle in for the final interview.

"I guess the only thing left to talk about is your first day to school. Can you describe what it was like for the both of you?" I asked, getting straight down to business.

"Well we decided that we were going to start how we meant to continue. No hiding, and no apologies or excuses". Dave began.

"We were going to take the bull by its horns." Kurt chimed in.

"So we walked into the school hand in hand surrounded by a posse of our friends." Dave continued. "Az had warned us that he heard through the grape vine that the jocks, the intolerant remnants of the hockey and football teams, were planning a 'welcoming committee' for us."

"Wow, that must have been scary for the two of you."

"I wasn't that scared, you have to remember, I had been one of them a couple of weeks previous, so I knew all their tricks." Dave answered

"He was terrified. His hands were so clammy, every time he dropped my hand, I had to surreptitiously wipe it on my pants." Kurt volunteered.

"Aw c'mon Hummel, everybody will think I have sweaty hands." Dave objected. Any heat from the remark was erased by the quirk of his lips.

"Oh don't be such a whiney-puss, Karofsky." Kurt fired back cheekily.

"Whiney-puss!? Who was the whiney-puss yesterday when we were late for the movie." Dave turned to me. "I didn't hear the end of it and we were only late because he couldn't decide what shirt to wear. And don't get me started about the day before that!"

Kurt leans forward to me leaning over Dave's lap,"Get a load of the whiney-pus whining about me being a whiney-puss." Kurt shreiked happily as Dave tickled him in the ribs. "We'll argue about this later." Dave responded, giving Kurt a look full of promise. Kurt smiled back with such a slow sexy smile, and the temprature in the room shot up several degrees. Dave's remark was obviously code for sexy time later.

This was typical behavior with Kurt and Dave, witty verbal sparring, and play fights with a constant under current of sexual desire. It always left me wistful, wishing I could share sizzling stares and knowing smiles with someone special.

Dave continued, "As I said, before being so rudely interrupted," Kurt blew a rasberry in the background, "we arrived hand in hand with our friends. We no sooner got into the main hall when we were met by all the homophobes in the football and hockey teams. I must admit, I was a little hurt that some of the guys were former good friends. They were lined up blocking the hall like a firing line, each armed with a slushy. We lined up in a similar fashion in front of them to show we were not intimidated. From out of nowhere Sue Sylvester the cheerleading coach, Will Sheuster the Glee Director and Shannon Bieste the football coach suddenly appear."

'Oh isn't this a wonderful show of solidarity -you boys welcoming Lady Face and Liberace Brows and their friends with nice cool cups of slushies.' Sue opined.

'Be careful not to spill any when you hand it to them or we'll have to give you detentions after school for getting the floors sticky.' Shannon added.

'We could always get their coordination back by mandatory Glee practise.' Will threatened.

The jocks paled at that and obediently handed the cups over to Kurt, me and our friends.

Rachael was beside me and she goes to take a sip and Puck grabs it out of her hand. At the same instant I shout, 'No! you have no idea what's in that! It might be mixed with spit, toilet water, who knows!' she looks suitably horrified and glares at both Puck and me like we are the enemy."

"You always sound so surprised at her reaction." Kurt interjects," and you always change the subject when I ask you what was in the slushies you used to throw at me."

"I don't know why you worry so much about it. It's not like we don't exchange spit almost every day."

"Oh you rat! So you did spit in the slushies before throwing them at me."

"Aww, c'mon honey, only in one slushie, and most of it ended on your chest anyways."

"And that makes it perfectly fine?" Kurt grumbles and I start to wonder if this is an actual fight.

"I love you." Dave sing songs.

"Oh shut up."

"I really, really loooove you." Dave croons and kisses Kurt's hand.

"Forget it! I'm never exchanging spit with you again!" Kurt giggles

"Never again?" Dave asks while pulling Kurt into a hug, kissing his neck and cheek while Kurt strains to keep his lips out of Dave's reach.

"No never! You brute!" Kurt's resolve fails immediately as Dave captures his lips.

"Ahem, we trying to conduct an interview here. Do you mind exchanging spit later? Can we go back to the school, the bullies and the showdown?" I ask.

"Well we're lined up facing each other and now because of the teacher's interception, we have the slushies that we know we'd better not drink so there only one thing left to do..." Dave lingers for a moment.

"You threw their own slushies in their faces!" I laugh and clap.

"It may have turned out better for them if we did.." Dave said.

"They ran." Kurt finishes for Dave. "In front of a whole crowd of students that gathered for the show down, they turned tail and ran before we could throw the slushies."

"That couldn't be good for their reputation." I reply laughing.

"It wasn't." Kurt replied smiling."Totally destroyed their street cred!"

"Was that it?" I asked almost disappointed for my readers that there wasn't a bigger confrontation. .

"We still had the Glee body guards accompany us for a week or more until everyone got used to Kurt and I walking in the halls together."

"So the jocks still gave you some trouble?" I asked.

"A little bit, they'd shout' fag' at me when they saw me in the halls." Dave replied.

"What about on the football field?" I asked.

"They couldn't do much. You have to remember, we lost quite a few football players in the shooting. Most of the Glee guys were footballers, in fact Artie joined the team. Also Coach Beiste had had eagle eye on everyone and she was very careful in chosing new players. If they had any feelings of intolerance for any one's rights be it gay, religious or disabled, she didn't want them playing.

"This one time when I was coming out of the showers, I had my head partially covered with a towel so I bumped into this jerk, Alex Martin. He says,'Get out of my way! I don't want to catch the gay, faggot!' Both Puck and Az were in hearing distance, so they grab him and throw him up against the lockers. 'Hey Karofsky! Kiss him and make him gay like you did me the other day.' says Puck. I go, 'Nah! He's too butt ugly to kiss and too stupid to make it as a queer.' So Puck says, 'Sorry Martin, your ass is too ugly for Dave, tough luck man.' and Alex looks almost disappointed like he's been refused to some exclusive club!" Daves chuckles. "In the end, the jocks weren't much of a problem, I knew what moves to expect from them, I knew their mentality so I could shrug off their insults by dismissing them as idiots. It turned out that I would have problems with the regular students."

"Oh? What kind of problems?" I asked, being rather curious.

"I had no defence when the religious kids came up and called me a sinner. Those remarks hurt deeply because inside my head I had my mother's voice agreeing with them. Many students were angry at our timing, for coming out and being generally happy on the heels of such a tragedy. Again there was this voice in my head telling me I didn't deserve Kurt or deserve to be happy.

"There was this one time during that first week when this kid came up to me and said 'Why did you get to survive and be happy? Robbie should have put a bullet in your brain. You don't fool me, you dumb, fat ugly fagot. You're a bully and you'll always be one.' with that he horked up and spat on my shoe. Az was walking with me and he grabbed the kid by the collar and was getting ready to rough him up a little. I had to do some quick talking to convince Az to leave him alone. I knew the kid, his name was Lionel Lindekker - who names their kid that!" With a name like that he was doomed to be jock fodder from the very beginning. I knew him from public school and I used to bully him. Not like Kurt, I didn't have a crush on this guy, he was just a convenient kid with a funny name I could take my frustrations out on. All the jocks picked on him because he was small and weak. Funny thing was, I hardly recognized him. I didn't even know he went to Mckinley. He must have been in hiding from me or at least avoiding me all that time. I felt terrible."

"Do you here any regrets talking to the newspaper back then and coming out go publically?" I asked Dave.

"Sure I have regrets. I regret that I was such a colossal fool that it took a gun pointed at my head before I realised that I have to be true to myself. I caused a lot of grief to all those around me just because I hated who I was.

"I regret that I haven't been able to reconcile with my mother. I'm more then willing to but unfortunately she is not. I have recently learned from one of her sisters that still talks to me that she has ovarian cancer. I've tried to contact her to find out what's her prognosis, what treatments are they giving her but she is shutting me and my dad completely out of her life. I may lose her before we can get over this thing that's between us." Dave stops talking obviously upset. Kurt who had started stroking his hand moves closer and starts rubbing his back. Dave takes a deep breath and smiles at Kurt, reassuring his boyfriend that he okay.

"Do you have any regrets Kurt?" I ask to take some of the pressure of Dave.

"None what so ever." he said, beaming at Dave.

"Did you have any of the name-calling and hassles Dave did?"

"No more than I did before the shooting. Less maybe. You must remember that, though it was tragic that those boys lost their lives in the shooting. They weren't innocent. They were part of a strong bullying culture that had taken root in McKinley High School. Some remnants of that group tried to hold on to what they had, but it was dying. When the jocks ran away from us that day, the bullying culture was dead."

"Did you have problems from the religious students?"

"I was openly gay and I'm an atheist I have always had problems with them. The only uncomfortable confrontations I had were from people who would come up to me, and claim I was insane for trusting Dave. I had plenty of people, sincerely worried for me, because of my choice of boyfriend. They couldn't believe that he had changed. So when confronted with anti-Dave sentiment I would have to resist the urge to bite their heads off. I would hold my tongue, thank them for their concerns and assure them that Dave was a great guy."

"You had no doubts about Dave?"

"I had no doubts what so ever about Dave's sincerity; he really wanted to be a good person. Essentially he was a good person - is a good person; I had just not seen that side of him before the shooting. I did worry, at times that the pressures and obstacles of coming out would weaken his resolve and I worried that he might falter." Kurt replied carefully.

"This is news to me! You didn't think I was going to come out?" Dave asked.

"Come on Dave, you yourself had doubts."

"Yeah, but I didn't expect you to."

"Didn't I support you 100%? Did you have any inkling I was worried?"

"Well, no."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I went through all that shit thinking you had absolute confidence in me and I didn't want to let you down. Now find out you had some doubts. I feel like I've been lied to." Dave finished sulkily.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "It was over a year and a half ago, David. Are you going to crawl back into the closet just because I kept a few fears about you to myself?"

"No!" David groused.

"We got through those first few days perfectly fine and you never looked back. Right?"

"Yah."

"Well then!"

"Tell me about some of your successes?" I asked trying to keep the interview moving.

Dave smiled,"Once people got used to seeing us in the halls hand in hand. Things got really good. The student body didn't just accept us, everybody who was different was accepted. The whole atmosphere of the school changed. Everyone was a lot kinder to each other. People started coming out of the woodwork - I should say the closet in droves. Three cheerleaders came out Santana , Britney and Frank. A basket ball player and our physics teacher also came out." Dave chuckled, "Az asked me if I was sure gay wasn't catching because how else do you explain the queer epidemic that hit our school."

"Az is an ass!" Kurt sniffed.

"The football team gradually jelled and I actually had one of my best seasons in football. We actually won in our division. It was amazing!"

"Glee got to the nationals." Kurt added excitedly.

"Oh! And we had the best Prom night ever!" Dave added.

"It was amazing!" Kurt gushed.

"Santana got it in her head that she wanted to be Prom Queen so she pestered me to try out for Prom king." Dave explained. "So Kurt and Britney decide that they're gonna run as well to give us some healthy competition." Dave explained.

"Not true actually, I only did it to annoy Santana."

"Anyways, we ended up going as a foursome to Prom."

"I wore this fabulous kilt I made myself."

"Kurt looked really hot in it." Dave agreed. "The foursome worked out great; I always had someone to dance with. Sometimes I danced with Kurt, sometimes with Santana or Britney. It was a lot of fun! Then the moment of reckoning came, the vote for Prom King and Queen. I was picked for Prom King and Santana was picked for Prom Queen. It was pretty cool, but the best was yet to come. Before we received our crowns and scepters, our principal Mr. Figgins said that there were quite a few mail-in votes and in light of those results he had a special anouncement to make.

"Because the theme of the Prom was acceptance and tolerance, gay couples were now accepted for Prom Royalty. To that end, this year there were going to be two Prom Kings and two Prom queens and he called up Kurt and Britney. Mr. Figgings gave me the crown and Kurt the scepter. He did the same to Santana and Britney. It was so cool! I immediately grabbed Kurt and kissed him in front of everyone and Santana did the same with Britney. There were loads of hoots and hollers and cheers. After Mr. Figgins invited us to the dance floor, I proudly walked down the stairs with Kurt, hand in hand followed by a beaming Santana and four of us danced together, boy, boy and girl, girl and when I looked around I could see only friendly smiling faces. We danced to our Glee friends' singing "Dancing queen. It was totally magical, the best night ever!"

"We had mind blowing sex in a hotel room later." Kurt added

"Totally mind blowing." Dave agreed.

"It certainly sounds like you have turned things around at school, what are your plans for the future."

"New york!" They both say together, and then they smile and laugh at each other.

"As you can see, we have plans to go to New York after our senior year." Kurt starts.

"We can't wait! Kurt's hoping to get in NYADA."

"Dave wants to become a sports agent so he wants to take some business courses at NYU."

"I'm hoping to get a football scholarship. I played really well last season so hopefully I'll do well in this upcoming one."

"Of course you'll get a scholarship darling," Kurt says smiling proudly at his boyfriend. He then turns to me and says, "he's a phenomenal player."

Dave chuckles, and gestures towards Kurt."He's my biggest fan."

"And don't forget loudest, I can out shout any of those skanky girlfriends from the other teams."

"He knows to project his voice from all his time in glee."

I laugh, "I hope you do get that scholarship Dave. You do realise that the two careers you've picked are very competitive and you'll be so far away from home." I caution.

"We'll be fine." Kurt states simply.

"We have each other." Dave declares just as determined.

"It sounds like you both have a bright future in front of you. I only have one question for each of you before we wind up this interview." I turn to Kurt first. " What is the best piece of advice you can give our young queer followers?"

"Be yourself. Believe in yourself. And lastly don't listen to any opinions or talk that makes you feel less than what you are, a unique and amazing person."

"Dave? Same question."

"Well I want everyone to be safe and secure in their home but that being said, get out of the closet as soon as you can. It might be scary and awful at first. You might loose friends and family, but coming out into the sun is totally worth it. It is better to live out of the closet and be 100% true to yourself than stay inside and only be a fraction of yourself. Ultimately you might live an easier life, but it won't be a happy one."

"Both of you are very wise. Now then let's finish off with a photo of you two hugging just like that famous photo taken after the shooting. I know it's corny," I say holding my hands up, looking at Kurt, "but sometimes corny can be poignant."

" I don't know, Kurt's so tiny and fragile I might snap his bones if I hug him." Dave jokes.

"Hey you big galoot! You can hug me tight as you want, I won't break." Kurt fires back, his face beams as he walks into Dave's waiting arms.

T**he End**

**A/N The last few chapters were written on my Galaxy Note. It has no spell check so please ignore the spelling errors you come across. I would love a review or two. I hope you enjoyed the story.**


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